Ivybridge under 12s

Ivybridge retained their position as the best in their age group in the South West after a full day of absorbing rugby in Exeter on Sunday.

The leading 20 teams from Devon, Cornwall, Somerset and Dorset gathered in Exeter to compete for the trophy and the chance to represent the region at Twickenham in May next year.

A tough group contained Newquay, Exeter Saracens and Barnstaple with the first game against the classy Newquay side that Ivybridge had narrowly beaten in last year's semi-final.

It was nip and tuck, with Newquay taking the lead before Ivy­bridge stormed back with Ewan Stephens crashing over to equalise the scores.

The second game was against Exeter Saracens and an accomplished all round performance meant Ivybridge ran out winners by four clear tries.

The final group match was against a physical Barnstaple side. Ivy's front five stepped up to the challenge with Solly Stinch­come, George Barnes and Barney Collinson dominating the scrums.

So into the semis against an undefeated Truro outfit. The intensity stepped up a notch and again the forwards dominated.

Hamish Harris rucked and tackled like a demon, supported by George Shirley. The quick ball allowed the backs to work their magic with Archie Gilroy and Will Rogers both weaving through.

The final was against Wellington, who had edged out old rivals Kingsbridge in their semi-final.

Fatigue was starting to tell and it was end to end action. Edward Epps kicked with aplomb and in the closing seconds Archie Bryan sniped down the blind side to send the supporters wild.

This was a fantastic team performance with high quality play throughout the squad.

The team's commitment, technical ability and heart are a credit to both Ivybridge and Devon rugby in the region's blue ribband event. Player Harry Towle insisted he could not be prouder of his side's achievement.

He said: 'It feels great – it was a tough final,' said the 11-year-old. 'In those last few minutes I was thinking 'help us!' but we got that winning try.

'It's going to be great to go to Twickenham.

'It's actually our second time – last year it was awesome, we got to see all the players and we met Lewis Moody.

'Hopefully Henry Slade and the Exeter Chiefs are at the final so we can meet them in May.'

And Towle and co were joined by the club's under 11s side, who won three of their group matches but were unable to make it to the day's final.

However, under-11s skipper Drew Bowden insists he was far from disappointed with the efforts of his side.

'Tournaments like this definitely help you to improve as a player because you are playing against the best sides in Devon and you can learn from them,' he said.

'I love rugby, it's a great sport even if sometimes you can get your face trampled on.

'These kinds of events really help us to develop and we have all played well and had a great day.'

Land Rover supports grassroots rugby and provides the opportunity for over 7,000 youngsters to take part in the Land Rover Premier­ship Rugby Cup each season.

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