Honiton Colts entertained a Plymstock Oaks side who pitched up in East Devon with only 13 players.

It meant the young Lacemen lending the visitors one of their hookers to allow for contested scrums.

With Honiton fielding one of the youngest packs so far this season, it was always going to be a baptism of fire for many of the colts teams.

James Barback, the skipper of last season’s Honiton Under-16 side, led the pack and did so with aplomb.

Honiton ultimately lost the game 32-14, but they showed lots to be enthusiastic about. They scored two tries, one coming from Sam Platten, who spotted a gap and ran through it, getting home with a 30-metre run, and the other try came from James Ranson Williams, who made a barn-storming run from his own 22, showing the visiting back line a clean set of heels! Dom Lovesy slotted both conversions.

There was a tremendous debut from the recent signing from Sidmouth, prop Jack Marchant, who landed the Man of the Match award making some big hits and providing a powerful presence in all areas of the pitch. The final score most certainly did not do justice to the contribution that Honiton made to a fine game.

One thing that did come out of the contest was the fact that clearly, when the older players are missing, the younger colts need to have a bit more confidence, but they all contributed lots and there were many positives for the Lacemen to take from this match.