On the same weekend England played Australia, and Exeter played Harlequins, arguably the main event of the weekend was Sidmouth Rugby Football Club U7s verses Cullompton U7s at the Sidford playing fields, writes Simon Dunstan.

In perfect playing conditions, Sidmouth’s large squad of 18 players fielded four sides, while Cullompton were able to field two strong sides from the eight players that travelled the short distance down the M5.

A series of games were played, giving each of the four Sidmouth sides the opportunity to test their skills against each of the Cullompton outfits.

In the early stages, Cullompton looked strong in attack with a number of useful players who have clearly been working on running lines and evasion techniques.

Sidmouth soon realised that strong defensive performances were required, and some great tagging from Mathew Farrington-Smith, Seb Galling, Ruben Willis and Sam Bennett kept the Sidmouth sides within touching distance.

As the games progressed, Sidmouth’s defensive systems tightened up allowing for some free flowing rugby and some great tries from the Sidmouth youngsters, with Otto Greifenberg, William Smart, Harry Matchett and Alistair Gibson showing strong running skills of their own to cross the whitewash on numerous occasions.

With commendable effort from all involved, special mentions must be made for Ethan Thomas, who took part in his first competitive games of rugby, and to Jake Thomas, whose performance and attitude stood out to earn him the coaches’ Player of the Week award.