CORNWALL and Devon both remain on course to reach Twickenham after claiming second successive wins in the County Championship.

In the top division, champions Cornwall dug out a hard-earned 23-15 victory away at Hertfordshire after last week seeing off Gloucestershire 33-27 at Redruth.

Plymouth Albion flanker Sam Matavesi scored two tries for the second week running, with his club team-mate Herbie Stupple also touching down. Another Albion player Matt Shepherd kicked eight points.

Cornwall, coached by Graham Dawe, had been 12-0 up but found themselves 15-12 down at the break. They were forced to soak up a lot of pressure by the home team and even had Jake Murphy sin-binned, but they defended brilliantly and Matavesi sealed the win with his second try late on.

A win or a draw against Surrey at Camborne next Saturday will see them reach the County Championship final for a fourth consecutive year.

Devon are set to join them at Twickenham and secure a return to the top flight of county rugby.

They hammered the North Midlands 50-18 at Dudley Kingswinford on Saturday. That followed on from a 39-10 win over Somerset the previous week.

Ivybridge’s Lewis Paterson was among their seven try scorers. Also touching down for the Green and Whites were Dean Avery (2), Will Topps, Ollie Rice, Dan Williams and Wayne Sprangle.

Devon, whose pack was outstanding, had been 15-5 down in the first half before mounting a great comeback.

Realistically they just need a point away at Kent next Saturday to top Division Two South and win promotion and a trip back to English rugby’s HQ for the first time since 2008.