Plymouth College 1st XV went in to the U18 Devon Cup final against Exeter School with a number of injury concerns and were forced to start the game, played at Sandy Park, home of Exeter Chiefs, without key lineout forward and captain, Phil Beak.
Set piece problems were compounded when James Kelsall was concussed whilst claiming the first kick off the match. This resulted in the college being left with only Alex Smith as a line out specialist and with three Under 16 players in the front five. However, Jon Dawe, hooker by choice but nothing if not adaptable, found himself being thrown up at the front of the lineout. Alex and Jon were manful as they adapted to their unfamiliar roles and slowly but surely the lineout began to become secure.
The scrummage was dominant throughout and this hampered one of Exeter’s main threats, that of their strong running back row. However, Exeter took the lead with a well worked try and only after Plymouth finally settled down did they respond with a try of their own.
The score see sawed and Plymouth completed the final and decisive score of the match when James Burke converted the crucial penalty that put the college in the lead. This was followed by a tense ten minutes as both sides battled hard. However, Plymouth College prevailed and wound up as worthy County Champions with a final score of 13-10.
