Sidmouth Under-15s were beaten 24-5 when they travelled to a chilly Flowerpots ground in Exeter to face a large Exeter Chiefs.

The opening exchanges were nip and tuck with no quarter given, and none taken!

The home team’s solid scrum was matched by Sid’s robust defensive play.

The only score of a keenly contested first half was an unconverted try that gave Chiefs a small interval lead.

After the break Chiefs, with a large squad at their disposal and plenty of fresh legs when needed, began to exert their authority and opened up a three-try lead. Sidmouth continued to give as good as they got and it was no more than they deserved when Mead scored a try and were unlucky not to secure a second through DeGruchy.

However, it was Chiefs, who looked at times as it they had 16 players on the pitch, who took the honours, closing the game out to that 24-5 score line.