In their first game of the season Ivel Veterans finished eventual winners 47- 24 in an excellent game against their Crewkerne counterparts. 

In a very even match the sides traded tries for the first half and then Ivel managed to stretch a lead in the second making good use of the slope and the wind whilst Crewkerne were unable to use their dangerous backs.   

The game was enjoyed by both teams many of whom had been playing against each for, believe it or not, over 20 years.

Whilst Malcolm Pain, Harold Williams, Grant Jackson and Popeye Law were amongst the older players on the pitch they still kept battling on. 

Man of the match was Ivel’s Dave Hodges, slightly younger than the afore mentioned, but not by much, scoring 2 tries and spending the rest of the game avoiding a third!

Ivel produced a match full of action and points despite North Dorset having the majority of play in the first twenty minutes.

A mixture of age, experience and knowledge gave Ivel the edge. The two sets of forwards were evenly matched and so the difference was going to come down to how the two sets of backs played. Initially it was looking like the visitors would have the upper hand but some strong defence from Dan Haseltine kept Ivel in the game. It was thanks to Dan that Ivel broke the deadlock. He managed to find gaps in the defence to score two tries, both converted by Emlyn Kuhn. The half finished with Ivel dominating and scoring a third try through Martin Weston.    Half-time 19-0.

The second half started as the first had finished with Ivel taking control. Some good breaks and intelligent handling saw Ivel dominate. Typical of the increase in pressure for the Yeovil side was that shown by man-of-the-match Jack Parnell. He led the forwards in creating gaps where there weren’t any, breaking defensive lines. Through this dominating play Ivel managed to score three more tries. One more came for full-back Dan Haseltine and one apiece for Captain Martin Jakes and winger Richard Gaston.

This was a highly entertaining game, played in blustery and cold conditions. Although played in the competitive and friendly manner that rugby should be played, the pace and passion shown by both teams would have done many first teams proud.