The Match played over four quarters was a closely fought game with tension high amongst the players and spectators. North Dorset started with determination and had the run of play for the first ten minutes with Ivel having to dig deep in defence. Despite the attacking start at the end of the quarter neither side had managed to cross the try line.

During the second quarter Ivel began attacking and North Dorset were now being forced to defend with Andy Forsey being held up on the line. Both sides fought hard with Ivel having the better run of play, but again at the half way mark the scores remained unchanged.

The closest score for Ivel came in the third quarter with Billy Carter almost running into the corner and again despite having the run of play, North Dorset defended well and the score remained tied with neither side scoring.

During the fourth quarter it was evident that this closely fought contest could so easily go either way and probably only one score being needed to secure a win. Ivel were for this quarter under pressure from North Dorset who were playing the game in Ivel’s half. The additional training sessions looked to be paying off with some solid defending from Ivel after having some great periods earlier running the ball. It took some great forward work to get the ball to Jordan Bishop who successfully ran in from around the half way mark to score the winning try to be converted by Andy Forsey. Ivel came out deserved winners 7 -0.

This years Midsomer tournament was played in contrasting conditions to last year with the light drizzle starting just after arrival then getting steadily worse as the tournament progressed. As always this tournament proves challenging, playing against opposition from the fringes of Bristol and Bath.

Ivel’s first game was against the home team and a good contest saw neither side score and ended in a 0 – 0 draw. Next came Chew Valley and Chew ran in two tries before Ivel came fighting back with one of their own, but despite their efforts they lost 5 - 10. Frome were next, a close contest again saw Ivel picking up the game, but still their first win eluded them and Ivel lost out by a narrow margin 5 – 10. Melksham played Ivel who for the first time had the elements behind and with the added bonus of a downhill slope. An impressive performance followed and Ivel had their first win 10 – 0. Finally came Walcot Old Boys and this proved to be the strongest of the U12 teams that Ivel faced. Whilst Ivel defended very well, which was evident in the result, the game ended 0 – 5.

Whilst Ivel didn’t get through to the semi-finals, there were some great performances all round. Better luck next time boys!

Bradford upon Avon 5 vs Ivel Barbarians 0

Ivel travelled to Frome to meet with Bradford upon Avon and Frome and had the pleasure of watching some good rugby whilst these two sides battled with some good running rugby and tackling that was very impressive.

Ivel played Bradford first and came under a lot of pressure from a very strong side. In the first half Bradford spent most of the time attacking and Ivel defended well to keep the result to a 5 – 0 deficit at half time. The second half Ivel came out fighting and had some great run of play and spent  most of the half putting pressure on Bradford but were not able to cross the line.

Frome 5 vs Ivel Barbarians 5

After a very short break and a couple of changes to the line up, time to meet Frome. This was a very close contest with a lot of end to end play. Frome were first to score even with some strong defence from Ivel. Ivel forwards started to get control of the loose play with some strong performances from all and eventually getting the ball back to Andy Forsey who had a great run and went over in the corner to tie the score. Neither side were able to clinch the winner but a well fought game ended in a tie.

Ivel should be proud with the way they are playing and whilst the winning results aren’t quite there yet, your game has improved and it won’t be long!

On a pleasant morning Ivel travelled the short distance to The Terrace Playing Fields to meet with probably the strongest opposition to be faced so far this season. A game of four quarters started exceptionally well for Ivel with them stepping up to the pace straight from the kick off. This superb start saw Ivel playing their best rugby to date and whilst most of the game was played in the Sherborne half Ivel were unlucky to be trailing 7 – 0 at the end of this quarter.

In the second quarter Ivel came close to scoring twice. Billy Carter ran the length of the pitch to be stopped by great cross field tackle just short of the line; and Andy Forsey also ran from a distance to be taken into touch just before reaching the line. However Sherborne were able to run in two further tries and at half time were leading 19 – 0.

During the third quarter Ivel found themselves playing up the slope which gave Sherborne the edge and they put the pressure on Ivel the whole quarter. Whilst Ivel still played well, Sherborne took advantage of the slope and were able to run in three more tries making the score at the end of the third quarter 38 – 0.

Ivel kept their spirits high going into the fourth quarter, and playing up the slope again were very unlucky not to score, defences held strong to deny Sherborne any further points and the score remained Sherborne 38 – Ivel 0.

This result was not a true reflection of how well Ivel played and I think we all agreed that this was probably some of the best rugby we had seen from the U12’s. Whilst standing amongst the Sherborne supporters it was pleasing to hear the remarks from them stating how the Ivel pack were performing better than their own. Well done Ivel, a tough game and some of your best rugby!

Ivel 28 vs Chard 0

Ivel managed to have their first convincing win of the season so far against Chard. The first half playing down hill saw some running rugby from the backs with the forwards playing well winning plenty of ball for them. New member this season Billy Carter found space on the wing and was able run in Ivel’s first two tries showing plenty off pace and potential to look forward to in the future. Next came some good forward work to find George Carter going over for the third try. (George your Dad told us it was a fiver and not a pound). Score at half time 21 – 0 Andy Forsey converting all three tries.

Second half whilst playing well only produced one further try. Good forward work got the ball to Jordan Bishop who drove over for the fourth try of the game which was again converted by Andy giving a final score 28 – 0.

Ivel 12 vs Castle Cary 14

This game was a close encounter which Ivel started with the confidence that they had built on during the first game. Unfortunately Castle Cary were a lot stronger and caught Ivel off guard as a consequence. Ivel seemed to forget the hard work from the training ground and failed to pull together the team approach. That said the work that had been done practising different penalty moves worked well with a five metre forward move giving Kyle Bishop the support to go over and take Ivel into half time loosing 5 – 14.

Determination kept Ivel in the game, Andy Forsey scored Ivel’s second which he then converted and despite a big effort from all the final score was a narrow loss 12 - 14.