Withies Crowned Cup Champions

An emphatic win at Raleigh Park brought home the silverware

It was a dream ending to Withycombe’s centenary season this weekend as they lifted the Devon Junior Cup at a packed Raleigh Park.

With the sun beaming down and the crowds having already enjoyed a top-notch charity game during the afternoon, the scene was set for the long-awaited Devon Junior Cup final and the arrival of Plymouth-based side Old Technicians. 

The early exchanges of the game went the way of the visitors as they made the most of an early penalty to send the ball into the Withycombe 22’. However, with the ball stolen by Withy at the lineout, the hosts fought back to work their way back down the field, eventually being rewarded with a penalty in front of the posts. Tom Cooke slotted the kick to put Withy onto the scoreboard at 3-0.

Cooke added to his points tally just two minutes later as he broke through the defence to score under the posts. The conversion brought the score to 10-0 with less than 10 minutes on the clock.

Withies were enjoying their rugby and were fast gaining the upper hand on their opponents and, before long, were back pressuring deep inside the 22’. With the recycled ball slowly gaining ground, the desperation to prevent the try meant that Old Techs resorted to illegally blocking the Withy advances, leading to the referee running under the posts, awarding the penalty try. 

Now 17-0 down, the visitors began to get into the game and with two quick penalties started to battle for points. A lineout a little over 5m out was the perfect opportunity, but Withy stole the ball and cleared back past the half way line. 

After a scoreless period, Withycombe re-opened the floodgates with another flurry of tries with some well-timed breaks. Ben Dawson was gifted just a little too much space from the ruck, allowing for the speedy winger to open up – and win – the footrace to the line from the middle of the field. Joel Ranft followed shortly after in an equally as blistering pace and then Dawson made it a brace in 7 minutes with a second try in the corner. 

Full credit to Old Techs, who refused to drop their heads, and they battled back once again, testing the Withy defence. Being pushed back with every ruck; the visitors changed tactic and shipped the ball wide… straight into the hands of Neil Scopes! There was no stopping him and he completed the half with the host’s sixth score of the match. The score at half time was an impressive 43-0.

The second half saw a different dynamic to the game, and with a refreshed sense of belief, the slope and some good passages of play – Old Techs evened out the play and made Withy work a lot harder for any gains. Their resurgence was hampered a little after losing their loosehead prop to the sin bin; but they continued to battle on, winning a string of penalties for their efforts. 

However, this was swiftly extinguished with a great turnover from Withy, taking the ball out to Cooke who kicked the 50:22 of the season. The incredible kick bobbled within a metre of the tryline to set up an attacking lineout 5m out. With the lineout won, the ball was passed out to Joel Ranft who got his second try of the match shortly after the hour mark. The conversion from Cooke brought the score to 50-0. 

Old Techs finally got some reward for their efforts after another decent period of attack. After multiple phases, they themselves found a gap in the defence to score a converted consolatory try. 

Withycombe hadn’t finished scoring yet though and there was still time for one final score and, true to form, it came through another blinding break from man of the match Ben Dawson.

The final score Withycombe 55, Old Technicians 7 and Withycombe were crowned Devon Junior Cup Champions!!

A huge result and the perfect fairytale conclusion to their centenary season. A season that has had a number of ups and downs, but they managed to finish very much on a high!!

Time to celebrate, rest and enjoy the season break – the end of season awards could well be a good one!