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!
