RELEGATION-threatened Ivybridge could not have asked for a tougher start to 2025 in Regional One South West.
The Bridgers will open up the new year with a trip across the Tamar to take on fourth-placed Launceston this weekend.
They will then follow that fixture up against Launceston’s title rivals Barnstaple and Brixham.
“They are three of the most physical games you could come across all in a line,” said Ivybridge head coach Davy McGregor.
“It’s going to be tough when we have only got 18 first team players really and have to try and keep all those fit, and that’s going to be a test.
“We are very fortunate we have a lot of young fellows who have got their first caps this season, but Launceston, Barnstaple and Brixham are a different test.”
Ivybridge have only ever won one league game at Polson Bridge – back in 2016 – and the Cornish All Blacks did beat them 49-15 at home at the start of the season.
Launceston, who are only three points behind leaders Barnstaple, made a great start to the season, but in November they were surprisingly beaten by Sidmouth and St Austell, but they did end 2024 with wins over Exmouth and Chew Valley.
“They are not going to give you anything that you have never seen before, but it is a matter of trying to defend that,” said McGregor. “They have a good maul and a couple of backs that they have brought in this season have given them a bit more go-forward as well.
“We’ll go there and try to give a good account of ourselves and see what happens.”
Ivybridge should be able to welcome back experienced fly-half Matt Grieveson, while they are waiting on the fitness of Tom Hancocks.
“Bar a couple of changes we have been pretty consistent for the last few weeks, and I think our performances have been getting better,” said McGregor.
COUNTIES ONE WESTERN WEST
SECOND-from-bottom Tavistock are set to start 2025 on a high by fielding two full teams for the first time this season.
Tavistock’s first team will host fifth-placed Wiveliscombe at Sandy Park, while their returning second team will entertain their Saltash counterparts in the Ellis Trophy.
The West Devon side have gone from struggling to get one side out before Christmas to being able to name 36 players to run out on Saturday.
“It is really fantastic to start 2025 with two senior squads and our colts are also playing beforehand at 1pm,” said player-coach Hammy Kerswill.
“We had to get this cup fixture played by this weekend and to be honest, with a little help, people have come out of the woodwork. It is perfect timing as we have plenty of new guys who need game-time.
“It has been tough fielding one side a week (this season) and it’s sad seeing so many walkovers across the South West every week. No matter the stature of a club they can only be as good as their depth of squad and multiple teams constitutes this and it’s something we have always prided ourselves in having.
“Our seconds are out of the league this year, but we really hope it won’t be long before we are fielding two sides weekly again. Hopefully, this is the start of good things to come.”
He added: “We have a number returning this week to the ones and it’s actually been quite tricky doing a selection.
“Chris Watts will lead the seconds and Luke Burbage will get some valuable time at scrum-half. These two have been stalwarts this year and huge assets to the club.
“We have a number of returners to the ones. Charles Bowden at 10 and Jack Rock at 13 will offer some excellent go-forward, whilst Joe Burbage and Andrew Craddock return to the bench.
“Shooie (Andrew Schuttkacker) is not far away from being fit, it was touch-and-go, but hopefully one more week will see him back.
“Wivvy are a good outfit and very physical. The weather is set to be awful which will likely favour them, but we just need to concentrate on keeping the ball and utilising it into points – something we have not done for a few weeks.
“We have some natural finishers back and hopefully we can string some decent attacks together.”
Tavistock will hand a first team debut to former colt Joe Wheeldon, who will start at full-back.
Third-placed Plymstock Oaks will be hoping to get back to winning ways at the start of 2025 after a frustrating end to 2024.
Oaks only lost one of their opening nine games, but they lost three out of their last four of the year.
Their stuttering final month of 2024 has seen them fall 15 points behind leaders Paignton, who were one of the teams that beat them before Christmas.
But Plymstock will be pretty confident of getting back to winning ways when they host 10th-placed Bude, who they beat 64-6 away at the start of the season and 109-7 last January.
The north Cornwall club have not won since beating Tavistock 34-30 away at the end of October, but they did make Paignton, Kingsbridge, Barnstaple II and Pirates Amateurs work hard for victories in the final month of the year.
COUNTIES TWO
TAMAR Saracens and Plymouth Argaum will kick-off 2025 with a Counties Two Devon derby match at the Parkway.
Bottom side Argaum will be keen to prove a point after Sarries beat them 76-12 at Bickleigh Down when they home side were missing a host of key players.
“We were very weak last time, but we didn’t concede the game,” said Argaum head coach Dean Avery. “But we were licking our wounds a bit after that one.”
He added: “We have got a better team this time around, although we still have all our Royal Marines and uni boys away, but it’s that time of year when a lot of people are away.
“We do have a positive team and it could be interesting looking at the weather.
“I don’t know how they (Sarries) are looking. I know they struggled a bit for players before Christmas but everyone did.”
Argaum could hand a debut to new wing signing Ryan King, while Tom Mann should be back, while Bryan Milford could finally make his debut after signing from Devonport Services at the start of the season.
Kieran Burring is set to play his final game of the season before going away with work.
“It is Kieran Burring’s last game before he goes away on duty, which is a bit of a shame as he has been outstanding this year,” said Avery.
Some Argaum players did have a run out on Boxing Day as they played OPMs in their traditional festive match.
“Boxing Day at OPMs was good,” said Avery. “There were loads of players down there and a good crowd.”
Seventh-placed Tamar Saracens did have a frustrating end to 2024, losing their final four games of the year – three by just one score.
Had they won them, they could have been pushing for the top four.
But the are set to welcome back a number of key players this weekend, including Joey Pook, Alex Isreal, Adam Courbett, Lew Harris, Lew Swatton and Chad Smith, but they will be missing goal-kicker Rob Hall, Sam Davies-Hunt and possibly Adam Coutts.
“In recent weeks both us and Argaum have been up and down in our player numbers – one week might be brilliant and you have loads of players and then the next you have no-one,” said Saracens head coach Mike Lewis.
“There is such a change in availability at this level and that showed earlier in the season when we played them and they had loads of boys away and we got a good score against them.
“We have a few players back this weekend, which is good, but we are also missing a couple.
“Depending on who we both get out will depend on what sort of a game it is going to be.
“Argaum have a great set-up, have good coaches in place and have a real community feel about the club, but it seems they are not getting all their boys training or playing, which is a bit similar to us.
“Maybe everyone will perk up now that it is the new year.”
Sarries were struggling to get a training session in on Thursday as their generator was broken and so they could not get their floodlights working.
“Our generation was broken, but Albion kindly let us use their 3G pitch as they were not training so at least we could blow a few of the cobwebs off,” said Lewis.
Neither Plymouth Albion nor Devonport Services have games this weekend as tiers three and four have an extra week off at Christmas.
However, title-chasing Services II are in action in Counties Two Devon as they visit fifth-placed Withycombe on Saturday.
Services II comfortably beat Withy 46-7 earlier in the season, but the Exmouth-based club have really picked up since then and are on a seven-game winning run. They also have a good home record and Services II had a struggle last season there before winning 40-31.
Services II will be hoping to have a few more players back after fielding an unfamiliar line-up against Argaum in their last match before Christmas.
They go into the new year sitting in second place, 11 points behind leaders Torquay Athletic, but they do have a game in hand and still have the Tics to play away.
Also in Counties Two Devon, eighth-placed OPMs visit Exmouth II, who sit two places and five points behind them in the table.
OPMs have won their previous three league meetings with Exmouth II, but they did have to work hard for a 24-17 victory at King George V Playing Fields earlier in the season, which kick-started their season after losing their opening three matches.
OPMs did beat Tamar Saracens before Christmas to end a three-game losing run and they hope to be fairly strong for the trip to east Devon this weekend.
“It’s always going to be a challenging fixture at this time of year as a lot of people have not come back from the holidays with the way the break has fallen, but in terms of availability we have pretty much got our full squad,” said OPMs team manager Shaun Grundy.
“There’s not really going to be much change to our normal pack and in terms of numbers and the individuals we have got we are happy.”
OPMs were also happy to have a run-out against Argaum over the festive period.
“Boxing Day was very good,” said Grundy. “The fact that we play each other in the league naturally makes it competitive but there’s always a good social atmosphere. I think there was about 100 club players and a load of spectators and a few beers afterwards, which is what you want on Boxing Day.”
In Counties Two Cornwall, leaders Saltash open 2025 with a big home game against third-placed Falmouth.
It is the start of a big month for promotion-chasing Saltash, who follow this weekend’s fixture up with matches against Perranporth, Helston and Wadebridge II.
If they can keep their unbeaten run going this month then that should be enough for them to win the league.
But after narrowly missing out on promotion for the past two season, Saltash will not be taking anything for granted.
Falmouth, who came down from Western West last summer, have won their last five games and their only loss since Saltash beat them away at the end of September was a narrow 27-25 defeat to second-placed Helston.
The Ashes will certainly be expecting Falmouth to be stronger than when they played them earlier in the season – a game Saltash won 62-7.
Saltash, who did not have a league match immediately before Christmas, did have a run-out on Boxing Day with a Coaches v President’s XV match at Moorlands Lane, which the Coaches’ XV won 67-24. The match helped raise more than £6,000 for Parkinson’s UK.
COUNTIES THREE DEVON SOUTH & WEST
THE thrilling battle for the Devon South & West title continues this weekend, with Old Techs and Ivuybridge II both hoping to put the pressure on Brixham II by gaining wins.
Brixham II, who have already played a game less than their two big rivals, are without a match this weekend.
That opens the door for Techs and Ivybridge II to extend their advantage at the top.
Both clubs sit on 45 points, with nine wins and one defeat to their names.
Techs host ever-improving Totnes, who have won two of their last three games after welcoming a host of new players, including former Buckfastleigh fly-half Harry Laity.
Totnes did surprise Techs this time last year and so they will not be taking their visitors lightly.
“I think Totnes have improved, looking at their score against Ivybridge II,” said Old Techs’ Shaun Bedford-Smith.
“And we are expecting a tough game.
“We have only played basically half a game in the six weeks, and it has been quite hard for the players. They have been training every week, but they want to be playing on a Saturday.
“We’ve had a couple of socials just to keep the lads together, but they just want to go out and play.”
Techs have been handed three walkovers in their last four fixtures and the only game they started since November 16 was abandoned after a tree fell down.
The Weston Mill club were surprised before Christmas when fourth-placed Salcombe handed them an away walkover.
Techs had booked a coach and had a number of old boys planning to make the trip, but Bedford-Smith is more than aware how tough it can be to get teams out at level nine.
“At this level clubs can either get a really good side out or struggle to get a team out, so you do get a lot of ups and down and it is about who has strength in depth,” said Bedford-Smith. “That was what we really wanted to improve on from last season.
“I think our strength in depth is the best it has been in ages and players are dedicated to training. We can now bring players in and out without it making too much difference.”
Ivybridge II will be hoping to pick up another five points when they host fifth-placed Paignton II at Cross-in-Hand this weekend.
Clubs have been told that there is a good chance that two teams could be promoted from the league this season and so every point is vital in a three-horse race.
“There is a real opportunity for the seconds to win their league and a cup and the players should try and take it,” said Ivybridge’s head coach Davy McGregor.
Ivybridge II did beat Paignton II 65-7 away earlier in the season.
Plympton Victoria return to action this weekend when they host fourth-placed Salcombe at St Mary’s Field.
Both sides had to hand Techs a walkover before Christmas, but both have sides this Saturday – and Plym Vic expect Salcombe to be strong.
“They are fourth in the league despite giving away some points before Christmas, so it is going to be a good test for us,” said Plym Vic’s Chris Hunt.
“It’s just nice to get back after Christmas.
“We should be reasonably strong, but what we have struggled a bit with is strength in certain positions as we’ve not had a lot of backs for a few weeks.
“The good thing was we managed to get a second team out just before Christmas and have got another pencilled in for the end of this month, which is good.”
Also in action in Devon South & West are second-from-bottom Plymstock Oaks II who travel to Torquay Athletic II.