Sidmouth Under-8s played their part in what proved to be a thoroughly enjoyable rugby club junior section tour to Cornwall under the theme of ‘Heroes and Villains’.

Hosts Redruth had nine players to take on the 16 that travelled from East Devon.

After a few weeks off due to the conditions, the speed and intensity of play was notched up another level, notably sharper zig-zag running, dinking sidesteps and timely offloading of the ball, coupled with much stronger defensive lines to demonstrate the progress the Under-8s have made this season. Rolling games were played with the teams changing for each half to let the Sidmouth players experience some high intensity tagging with a number of turnovers from both sides.

Both sides demonstrated exceptional tactical awareness with their movement of the ball, and some bold, scything running led to numerous tries across the games played.

With all three teams playing side by side it was a great spectacle of junior rugby. Overall, the contest was superbly balanced and well fought with the coaches not even bothering to keep score as the winners on the day were all the kids.

Great fun was had for the rest of the weekend with some interesting fancy dress from parents and children. Unfortunately, the ‘mini beast from the east’ meant our Sunday fixtures had to be cancelled to allow us all to run for the hills before the snow came in.

A special thanks to our tour organisers Phil Grove and Joe Wall for all their exceptional hard work.