Plymouth College U13s clinch West Devon title
Published: 17 November, 2011
The scene was set. Plymouth College U13s had crushed Kingsley
(76-0), Plymstock (41-0), Eggbuckland (36-0) and St Boniface
(25-14) in the early stages of the 2011 West Devon Cup. They lost
to Ivybridge (19-34) in a tough home fixture and tripped up against
TavistockCollege(19-22) leading to tortuous mathematical
calculations by the event organisers. The call came late on Monday
that the final would be between Ivybridge and… PlymouthCollegeat
Plymouth Albion's ground on Tuesday 15th November.
On a cold and windy evening, a resolute squad of 18 Plymouth
College Year 8s focused on the match of their lives. Starting as
underdogs following their earlier defeat to Ivybridge, the boys had
everything to prove. The match was set alight with an early try as
the ball flowed through the hands leaving a gap in the Ivybridge
defence. However, the conversion was missed leaving the scoreline
tight. Strong rucking and passionate, determined defence
meant that every moment of inspiration and every error threatened
the result. When a gap eventually opened in the Plymouth defence,
Ivybridge pounced and entered half-time 7-5 up.
The Plymouth boys gave themselves a massive talking to and with
eyes tearful with emotion they threw everything into the second
half. The fan club pitch side suffered every tackle and contact
with the boys as every refereeing decision became critical. Then,
with fantastic rucking and quick hands, space opened up on the far
side leading to a score under the posts. Ivybridge threatened the
Plymouth line as the clock counted down but then the final whistle
came and the Plymouth College U13s were crowned West Devon Cup
Champions with a final score of 12-7.
On reflection, it was a wonderful game, just nail-bitingly
difficult to be part of for both players and spectators!!! All the
training, injuries, highs and lows had been worth it - the outburst
of emotion at the end showed that. Well done boys!