On a wet and blustery Sunday Ivel Under 10’s played their first match of the new season at Wells RFC against Wells and Weston-Super-Mare. The new season had brought new challenges to the players; they can now compete for the ball in the line out and push in the scrum so this game was a new experience for all the players. 

The first game was against Wells. Both teams started well but Ivel took the lead in the first half with a fine run by Elliot Berryman after some great work in the tight by Cameron Barrett and Oliver Perkins. The game was played a fast pace with both sides trying to run the ball wide and after some lovely passing by Daniel Long, Tom Parnell and Zac Withers Aidan Smith sprinted over in the corner. 

The second half saw Wells come out with all guns blazing and after some intense pressure by Wells and some brilliant tackling by Sam Hourse, Will and Jack Smeeton Wells scored a try in the corner. Both sides were now playing some fine rugby despite the muddy conditions and the Wells pressure paid off when they scored with the last play of the game. Wells 10 vs Ivel 10 

The second game was against a well drilled and physically strong W-S-M side. This was evident from the start when some very poor tackling allowed the W-S-M side to take a very early lead. W-S-M continued to apply the pressure and after some very determined tackling by Elliot Berryman and Jack Dicker W-S-M scored again.  However, the Ivel side did not let their heads go down but bounced back with very strong runs by Myles Haiselden and Harry McHugh which set up Oliver Perkins for the first of his 2 tries. This spurred the Ivel side on and again after some terrific runs by Cameron Barrett and Jack Smeeton Oliver Perkins went over again for his second try.

The Ivel tails were up and after some great work in the tight by the forwards the ball was passed to Tom Parnell who sprinted for the line and scored. With only a few minutes left W-S-M pounded the Ivel line but some fantastic tackling prevented them from crossing it but with the last play of the game W-S-M managed to force their way over for the try.   W-S-M 15 vs Ivel 15 

Ivel squad Elliot Berryman, Myles Haiselden, Tom Parnell, Oliver Perkins, Jack Smeeton, Aidan Smith, Zac Withers, Harry McHugh, Daniel Long, Sam Hourse, Hugo Hammond, Cameron Barrett, Jack Dicker, Will

Ivel Under10’s played at the annual Midsomer Norton tournament on Sunday 12th October and they were looking to improve on their second place from last year’s tournament.

In near perfect conditions for playing rugby the Ivel side started their campaign against the tournament favourites Midsomer Norton. The game was played at a high tempo with both sides producing some very high calibre rugby and the game was evenly matched, but the Midsomer Norton side managed to score a try with just a minute to go so Ivel had to push for a try but couldn’t manage it. 

Ivel’s next game was against Chew which they won 10 v 0 with tries from Cameron Barrett and Harry Mchugh. Ivel were now on a roll and faced a well organised Frome side and won a hard fought game 10 v 5 with tries from Cameron Barrett and Elliot Berryman.

Ivel’s next opponents were Melksham who had won their previous 2 games but again Ivel came out on top with Elliot Berryman scoring 2 tries.  

Ivel’s next opponents were Walcot and the Ivel team continued their winning streak with a 15 v 0 victory with Cameron Barrett scoring another 2 ties and the very quick Tom Parnell scoring another.

Next to face Ivel were a very big and physical Warminster side but Ivel proved far too strong and came out 20 v 5 winners with tries from Lewis Fry, Jack Smeaton and 2 from Elliot Berryman.  

Ivel’s final game was against a very quick Yatton side who had won most of their games so it was going to be tough for the Ivel side. The game started well with Elliot Berryman scything through the Yatton defence to open the score and this was followed by a great try by the hard working Harry McHugh. But the Yatton side came back strongly and scored two quick tries so the game was finely balanced. Both side were desperate to win and gave it their all but with a minute to go the skilful and fearless Zac Walters scored to make the final score 15 v 10 to Ivel.  The tournament was run on a league system and Ivel had come 2nd for a second year running but the Ivel players had had a great day and had played some fantastic rugby and are already looking forward to competing in next years tournament. 

Ivel Squad Elliot Berryman, Tom Parnell, Jack Smeeton, Aidan Smith, Zac Withers, Harry McHugh, Sam Hourse, Cameron Barrett, Lewis Fry, Henry Bowditch, Archie, Robert

Ivel U10’s visited Frome RFC. Both teams agreed to play two matches of ten minutes each half. 

The first game produced some great rugby from both sides.  There was some good ball handling skills from Ivel where we put the first points on the board by great running from the backs.  Frome showed a good understanding of rucking and mauling, which is normally a good part of Ivel play.  Cameron and Aiden ran in tries from wide positions, which showed some good off loads by all players today.  Ollie and Myles played well with some good support and hard work in the rucks and mauls.  Both sides were willing to run the ball so the defence from both sides had to be tight and work well as a unit.  All players worked well in this game but Will Rendell and Jack Smeeton deserve a special mention for their overall work rate and tackling (well done).  This game was a good test for us as Frome are an organised squad, however, Ivel proved to be better with good off loading play.  Ivel were winners by 15 - 0 (Try scorers - Aiden Smith, Harry McHugh, Cameron Barrett).   

The second game, again, showed both sides could run with the ball and both sides had to put in try saving tackles.  Hugo, Archie, Dan, Sam, Tom and Elliot all played well in this game with some good running in the backs.  Myles did some fantastic mauling with good support from all which gave us the edge and allowed Ivel’s backs to show their skills.  Again our discipline and organisation was to prove too strong although Ivel did have to work hard to gain victory for this tough fought match.  Result 20 - 5 (Try scorers Tom Parnell, Cameron Barrett, Elliot Berryman, Ollie Perkins).

All Ivel players are to be congratulated on both their individual skills and especially their team effort.  There was some very good free flowing rugby by Ivel today.     

Ivel squad: Cameron Barrett, Myles Haiseldon, Hugo Hammond, Daniel Long, Harry McHugh, Sam Nourse, Tom Parnell, Jack Smeeton, Aiden Smith, Archie Mitchell, Zac Withers, William Rendell, Oliver Perkins, Elliot Berryman.

On Sunday 8th March Ivel travelled to North Dorset. Ivel knew they were in for a tough match because their last meeting ended in a share of the victories. Ivel played two games and won both matches 15 v 10 with tries from Cameron Barrett, Lewis Fry, Dan Long, Elliot Berryman and 2 from Harry McHugh.

Game 1     Ivel 15 vs North Dorset 10

Game 2     Ivel 15 vs North Dorset 10

Ivel squad

Elliot Berryman, Tom Parnell, Oliver Perkins, Aidan Smith, Harry McHugh, Daniel Long, Sam Hourse, Hugo Hammond, Cameron Barrett, Will Rendall, Robert Samways, John Hayes, Lewis Fry, Archie Mitchell, Henry Bowditch

Ivel vs Weymouth

Ivel’s first game was against a large Weymouth side. The game was played a fast pace with Ivel scoring 3 tries in the first half with some fantastic work in the forwards by Myles Haiselden, Cameron Barrett and Ollie Perkins which allowed the “pacey” backs to have the room to show their handling skills. The second half continued the same way as the first with another two tries but all credit to Weymouth they never gave in and scored a try in the last play of the game.

Score      Ivel 25 vs Weymouth 5

Scorers      Cameron Barrett, Myles Haiselden, Lewis Fry, Dan Long 2

Ivel vs Blandford

Ivel’s second game was against Blandford who only had 8 players. The Ivel team started where they left off against Weymouth with 3 quick tries in first 5 minutes of the game. The extra space created by only having 8 players allowed the game to flow on a very small pitch and Ivel took advantage of this by scoring a further 4 tries. The Ivel side played some very skilful, fast flowing and powerful rugby with the forwards and backs inter passing and offloading in the tackle to produce some great rugby.

Score       Ivel 35 vs Blandford 5

Scorers      Lewis Fry, Jack Smeeton, Zac Withers, Harry McHugh, Elliot Berryman 3

Ivel squad

Elliot Berryman, Tom Parnell, Oliver Perkins, Aidan Smith, Harry McHugh, Daniel Long, Sam Hourse, Cameron Barrett, Robert Samways, John Hayes, Lewis Fry, Archie Mitchell, Henry Bowditch, Jack Smeeton, Myles Haiselden

On a glorious Sunday morning Ivel Under 10s travelled the short distance to Sherborne play a 3-way match against Wimborne and Sherborne. Ivel knew they were going to be in for a tough encounter because the last time Ivel played Sherborne the honours were even and Wimborne are one of the best sides in the area.

Ivel vs Wimborne

The conditions were perfect for fast flowing rugby and spectators were not disappointed. Both sides were keen to run the ball and the skill level was extremely high with the ball moving to one end of the pitch to the other. Some great forward play by Cameron Barrett, Will Rendall and Ollie Perkins allowed Ivel’s back line to apply to the Wimborne line. The pressure increased which allowed Harry McHugh to go over the 1st of his two tries. Ivel continued to play some great flowing rugby and this created the chance for Harry to score his second try and for centre Elliot Berryman to score his first.

Score    Ivel 15 vs Wimborne 0

Scorers   Harry McHugh 2 Elliot Berryman

Ivel vs Sherborne

Ivel’s final game was against local rivals Sherborne, both teams had beaten Wimborne so it was nicely balanced for a tough encounter. The game started at a furious pace and Ivel knew they were in a game. Some heroic tackling from Daniel Long, Henry Bowditch, Zac Withers, Sam Hourse and Tom Parnell stopped Sherborne from tacking and early lead. This drove Ivel on and they scored a try which was cleverly worked between Aidan Smith and Daniel Long which allowed Elliot Berryman to burst through the Sherborne defence to score. However, Sherborne replied immediately and scored straight away but Ivel passed the ball to Lewis Fry who powered his way through the Sherborne team to score. Ivel moved the ball wide again and Harry McHugh popped up to score in the corner. Sherborne scored again but it was to late and Ivel held on for victory. All three teams played some fantastic rugby which was played the spirit of rugby and all the players can be very proud of the way they played.

Score    Ivel 15 vs Sherborne 10

Scorers    Harry McHugh, Elliot Berryman, Lewis Fry

Ivel Squad

Elliot Berryman, Tom Parnell, Oliver Perkins, Aidan Smith, Harry McHugh, Daniel Long, Sam Hourse, Cameron Barrett, John Hayes, Lewis Fry, Archie Mitchell, Henry Bowditch, Myles Haiselden, Hugo Hammond