This Sunday saw the first competitive rugby for some Exmouth RFC juniors for over a year, and what a game it was!
As the game began between the Under-10s from Exmouth Rugby Club and Exeter Athletic, it was obvious to the parents and coaches that the players were nervous; a few missed tackles, no communication and a lack of positional awareness allowed Exeter Athletic to strike first in the form of a try, they quickly followed up with a second leaving the Exmouth team 10-0 down and in a state of confusion having only lost 2 of their previous games over the past five years.
This was just the spur Exmouth needed to shake themselves out of their slumber, and boy did they wake up. Exmouth soon began asserting their dominance at the breakdown, showing the opposition how hard they’ve been training throughout the broken season, after a big tackle from Riley ‘Chabal’ West, scrum half Ollie Harradine passed it to the rapid Rupert Dunn who knew exactly what to do; and with a powerful sprint to shake off any defenders he scored Exmouth’s first try of the match.
Ruan Piper led the next charge, turning the ball over with a massive counter ruck which allowed for some quick hands and a fantastic run down the wing for newcomer Zaylea Volschenk to score in the corner in her first ever match.
Exmouth continued to put all lessons learned into practice, controlling all the breakdowns, tackling hard and passing across the field. Some fantastic play from the whole team with a special mention to Buddy Brown and Xavier Applegate for their consistent drive to take the ball forward down ‘route one’ which helped Rupert Dunn secure his second try.
Exmouth increased the score line with some brilliant team tries from Luis Matthews, Ruan Piper, Charlie Reynolds, Callum Price and Beau Halford finishing the morning with a convincing 40-15 win over what turned out to be a strong opposition.
A fantastic first game for over a year, with some brilliant play from both teams. Exmouth U10s now look forward to their next outing against Sidmouth at the end of the month.

Exmouth Journal: Exmouth Under-10s in actionExmouth Under-10s in action (Image: Sam Harradine)

Exmouth Journal: Try scoredTry scored (Image: Sam Harradine)

Exmouth Journal: Fierce competition for young rugby starsFierce competition for young rugby stars (Image: Sam Harradine)

Exmouth Journal: Rugby on the runRugby on the run (Image: Sam Harradine)

Exmouth Journal: Good hands from ExmouthGood hands from Exmouth (Image: Sam Harradine)

Exmouth Journal: Back playing after a yearBack playing after a year (Image: Sam Harradine)

Exmouth Journal: Making a breakMaking a break (Image: Sam Harradine)