24 Nov '21

Bideford U12s Shine in Great Game v Okehampton

Bideford had the pleasure of hosting Okehampton who thankfully travelled with excellent numbers allowing us to play two matches.Unfortunately both teams suffered with players not being available either being away or to the dreaded lurgy but they put on a great show for the coaches and parents and both team can be very proud of their game.

Bideford have worked very hard on their rush defence and at times they looked really good with this however they lost their shape a couple of times allowing Okehampton to run from depth and Okehampton took full advantage of poor tackling. But when Bideford hit they hit hard and did very well.At the break down Caleb led the way again with several turn overs but both Harry and Alfie manage to steal a couple of balls that helped to create trys out wide.

What was particularly nice to see was that handling was very good in the second half and the support players were superb. Oli C and Finn linked very well at 9 and 10 and there was a lovely New Zealand call for Olly g to set off on a run which ultimately led to a try and that was really good to see.  It was great to see that Bideford are trying out these moves in their game and they are paying off.Seb and Olly G both had great games running hard at the Oke lads through the middle of the park and again that partnership is growing every game they play together.  Theo has taken his game to the next level in his progression and jinked his way through the tightest of spaces to gain valuable yards.

Kieren and Bayley who both started on the bench had the chance to watch their team mates in their positions to learn about how and what they needed to do. Kieren came on and did a great job which a couple of strong runs through the middle and plenty to work on to help his development but very encouraged by his contribution. Bailey, who joined us recently, had a really good start to rugby life and has bags of pace, that he used really well. Again plenty for the coaches to work on with him, and to get a score in his first game was lovely to see.

Harry was back to his usual wrecking ball running, but both Caleb and Alfie also pushed the Oke team. Oke were fantastic in their attacking game and had several decent runs from depth. Both sets of kids got on and it was a pleasure to ref the game all be it a little bit slow on the uptake that we played a good 5 mins with a man down 😊

Thanks to all the supporters, coaches from Oke and playing the game in the right spirit of the gameBideford look forward to going to a strong Bude side next week for more rugby.

Trys : Olly G, Seb,  2, Harry, Alfie 2, Bayley, Theo

Our Sponsors