Sidmouth 29 Okehampton 5 This was Sidmouth Under 15s first match of the season, writes Chris Robinson.

There had been a few changes in personnel over the summer, so it was an opportunity for this team to gel in its new incarnation. Sidmouth’s scrum, in spite of being the lighter pack, dominated at the set piece.

This allowed Wright the space to attack from the base of the scrum and he scored early on. The rest of the half was a little frustrating to watch. Sidmouth played well, but when attacking there was a tendency to run into the opposition rather than around them. This favoured Okehampton. The coaches must have pointed this out at half time because the second period was much better.

From the restart Bolton caught the ball, passed it to Wright, who scored under the posts. Allen converted. Okehampton did not give up and but for a try saving tackle from Pearse might have scored. Sidmouth pinned Okehampton in their own half though and from a miscued penalty kick Lau gratefully received the ball and showed how fantastic he is going to be when he attacks the space. Quick and powerful! Okehampton’s Number 15 deservedly scored a consolation try, before Wright scored two more as the opposition tired. This was a slightly rusty start, but there were a lot of positives that the coaches can work with in training.