UTS Round 1 - Exeter - Report

Exeter played host to the inaugural University Touch Series tournament on Saturday 14^th November.

The first fixture of the season, and for many their first ever tournament, saw over 300 players from Bath, Bristol, Southampton, Loughborough and Exeter Universities, as well as invitational teams from Truro, Exeter City and Thames Valley Vikings descend on Duckes Meadows.

The tournament is somewhat unique as many of the players are complete beginners having learned Touch from the beginning of September 2015, as well as having teams with numerous England and other international caps. All of the new players and teams demonstrated just how much they have learnt with some fantastic attacking displays, a notable performance from Exeter Pink v Exeter Red which ended 6-6 in the Plate Semi final. It provided all of the new players with their first experience of drop offs, with Red’s taking the win 7-6.

Bath, Exeter Green, Loughborough and Thames Valley Vikings came out on top in the group stages, with Bristol Honey’s, Truro, Exeter Red and Pink coming in second in their respective groups. The plate final was eventually won by Bristol Honeys.

The Cup Semi final saw Exeter Green beat Bath in 6-1 and Loughborough beat Vikings 4-2, which saw the hosts vs Loughborough in the cup final. It proved to be a great spectacle with a large and supportive crowd, showcasing what University sport is about. The game was preceded with a minute’s silence in respect of the recent attack’s in Paris.

The game was played at high intensity with Loughborough going 2 tries up in the first half, however Exeter replied early on in the second half to level it to 2-2. Loughborough showed their class and scored 3 more without reply, before a last gasp come back from Exeter made it a nervy end, but the game finished 5-4 to Loughborough University.

Winners

Cup = Loughborough
Plate = Bristol Honeys
Shield = Bristol Badgers
Bowl = Southampton
Spoon = Exeter Silver

A massive thank you should go to Bruce Lockie, James Brown and Sam Cutler who stepped up and refereed throughout the day, and Thames Valley Vikings for supplying numerous highly qualified player refs to complement many of the University players.