Plymouth College made it to the semi-finals of the Daily Mail Vase competition for the first time in their history after gaining victory over The Tiffin School from Surrey in the quarter-final.
The semi-final, played in Coventry against The Yarm School from Stockton on Tees, was a desperately tight affair that saw Plymouth leading 5-3 going into the last quarter of an hour, thanks to a well-taken try by centre Ollie Clenaghan. However, the final 10 minutes included just about every emotion on the spectrum as Plymouth had a player controversially yellow carded and Yarm struck with a try out wide to take the lead 8-5. This was followed by a titanic response fromPlymouthwho hammered away at their opponent's line for the remainder of the game. They were held up over the try line twice and ultimately were unable to seize the vital points required to book a place in the Twickenham final.
Lady luck was not shining on Plymouth on this day. However, to make the last four of a competition that had over 250 competitors to start is a terrific achievement and the team left theEast Midlandswith their heads held high and their rugby reputations definitely enhanced.
