EIGHT Ivybridge players have been named in Devon’s squad for their opening Bill Beaumont County Championship group game against Gloucestershire at Cleve on Saturday (3pm).
Mitch Pinkus, Lewis Paterson, Tom Scoles and Matt Finn will all start, while Jay Geraty, Ryan Dingle, Damon Akerman and Ben Watts are on the bench.
Devon are without Plymouth Albion scrum-half Cameron Setter this weekend, but they do hope he will be available for next week’s big match against Cornwall at Cross-in-Hand.
The Green and Whites, who reached six finals between 2000 and 2008, are back in the top flight of county rugby for the first time in seven years.
Head coach Dan Parkes said: “We are new to this league. Obviously we would love to go on and win it and go to Twickenham, as everybody would. You are not in it to be second best, so we will give it a go.
“But as long as we can establish ourselves this year as grade one team then that would be fantastic.”
On Saturday’s match against Gloucestershire, Parkes added: “It’s a bit of unknown for us as we have not been to Gloucestershire for a few years now
“They (Gloucestershire) always used to be right up there in the mix every year, so we are not going to take it lightly be any stretch of the imagination.
“We just need to go up there and play our game. We want to play an expansive game as we have a really good exciting backline.”
Devon are captained this year by Exmouth’s former Plymouth Albion flanker James Harris.
Devon side to face Gloucestershire
15 Jordan Petherbridge (Barnstaple)
14 Tom Scoles (Ivybridge)
13 Lewis Paterson (Ivybridge)
12 Mitch Pinkus (Ivybridge)
11 Harvey Ridgeway (Exmouth)
10 Tom Whelan (Sidmouth)
9 James Mattin (Exmouth)
1 Russell Morris (Brixham)
2 Ashley Crouch (Barnstaple)
3 Matt Finn (Ivybridge)
4 Jack Fahy (Exmouth)
5 Mike Richards (Exmouth)
6 Robin Luscombe (Kingsbridge)
7 James Harris (capt, Exmouth)
8 Sam Thomas (Brixham)
Replacements
16 Matt Dowrick (Newton Abbot)
17 Jay Geraty (Ivybridge)
18 TBC
19 Ryan Dingle (Ivybridge)
20 Ben Watts (Ivybridge)
21 Mark Wathes (Exmouth)
22 Damon Akerman (Ivybridge)