Honiton under-11s played a brace of matches at Torquay where they drew one and lost one in a couple of entertaining encounters.

In the first match Honiton were slow to start, with the hosts scoring two early tries to race into an early lead thanks to some lazy defending. This saw the Lacelads heads drop and they did well to prevent Torquay scoring again before half-time. After the break Honiton struck first with skipper Osian Owen powering over for a well deserved try. This appeared to rally the Lacelads and they struck again soon after when Joe Evans made space out wide to score in the corner. With the scores level it was anyone’s game, but neither team were able to find the winning score despite opportunities and honours ended even.

The second game saw Honiton start in similar fashion to the first game! Once again the young Lacemen slipped off tackles far too easily to allow Torquay to race into an early 20 point lead.

Yet again the Lacelads heads dropped as they failed to hold onto the ball long enough in attack, played far too narrow and missed opportunities out wide when runners were in space.

After the break Honiton dominated possession with James Harris carrying well in attack while Cameron Pegg pulled off a formidable last ditch tackle to thwart a Torquay break. Despite the pressure, Torquay held firm before prolonged pressure on the hosts line eventually allowed Joe Evans to cross for a deserved team try. Although the hosts won the second match 20-5, there wasn’t much between the teams.

Yet again, Isaac Stanbury and Osian Owen were dynamic at the ruck and maul. However, it was James Harris who was awarded the Man of the Match honour for his direct running and an all round impressive game. To bounce back the Lacelads must look to ship the ball earlier out of hand while defensively all of the team need to make their first up tackles.