DEVONPORT Services can look forward to locking horns with the likes of Redruth, Camborne and Clifton in National League Two West next season after sealing the Regional One South West title on Saturday.
Services dug deep to beat Lydney 24-20 away in their penultimate league match to guarantee promotion to level four for the first time in their history.
It was their third promotion in six years after finally escaping Western West in 2018 after 12 years in the division and then moving out of South West One in 2022.
Head coach Ben Russell described their title win as ‘sensational’ and was full of praise for all the players.
“We have had a few blips, but from day one they have come to training week-in, week-out and really put their bodies on the line every Saturday and it’s just been phenomenal,” said Russell.
“And it’s not just the first team – it’s all the boys in the whole squad. It has just been amazing.”
Russell played for Saracens, Racing Metro and England Sevens in his career, but admitted coaching Services to the title was special.
“It’s brilliant,” he said. “I just love the achievement. They have bought into everything, and they have taken me in and I’m just one of the boys.
“I am a Services man now. I just love the club.
“It is great from where we have come from in just two years from getting promoted with Mike (Lewis).
“We finished fourth and won the Devon Cup last year but to win the league this year is just sensational.”
Russell admitted it was a bit nerve-wracking on Saturday at Lydney.
“We weren’t very good,” he said “I think we were nervous all around the park and on the touchline.
“But we really dug in at the end, which just summed up our season.
“They (Lydney) had a line-out on our five-metre line at the end, but we turned them over, got a scrum and kicked out to win the game.
Russell insists the club are going to enjoy their title success before turning their attentions to next season. However, before then they still have a few more games to play.
“We have Matson in a couple of weeks and are also playing the Navy on the Wednesday night before we have Ivybridge in the cup,” said Russell,
“We do want to try and top it off with a cup win, but teams will be gunning for us now.”
Fittingly at Lydney, two of Services’ older guard – Matt Gregory and Richard West – scored tries that helped them seal promotion. They had been part of the squad that helped get the club out of Western West.
Captain Gregory, who recently played his 300th first team appearance for the club, was man of the match at Regentsholme.
West gave Services the lead in the Forest of Dean with a penalty before winger Harrison Coonick scored after Tom Davies put him free.
But Lydney pulled it back to 10-10 before number eight Gregory scored from the back of a scrum just before half-time to give Services a seven-point advantage at the break.
They extended that to 24-10 after the interval when West touched down for a try which he also converted.
But Lydney kicked a penalty before they scored a try from a scrum after Devonport had carried the ball over their own line.
That set up a nervous ending, but Services, who were the RFU’s level five team of the month in February, managed to hang on and claim the title with one game to go.
Ivybridge’s poor away record continued as they were beaten 40-25 by bottom side Weston-super-Mare.
The Bridgers had secured their league status the previous week with a home victory over Exmouth and they did get a good start in Somerset when Giles Clarke kicked an early penalty to put them 3-0 up.
But Weston quickly responded with a try by flanker Kieran Broomsgrove, which George Nuttycombe converted.
Giles missed a penalty attempted before Ivybridge scored their first try of the afternoon courtesy of prop Henry Trudgill, which Giles converted to put his side 10-7 ahead.
Tries by home scrum-half Dan Lomax from an Ivybridge scrum and then by Dom Marshall put Weston 19-10 in front, only for Hayden Coles to touch-down for a converted try before Giles kicked another penalty to make it 20-19 to the visitors.
However, in an end-to-end first half, Weston took a 26-20 lead into the break thanks to another try by Broomsgrove.
And the home side took command of the game after the interval when Broomsgrove completed his hat-trick after charging down a kick before number eight Jay Davis forced his way over to make it 40-20.
Young replacement James Pullan, who recently scored a great try for Ivybridge College at Twickenham in the National Schools’ Vase final, did add a late touch-down for the visitors, who have only won once on their travels this season.
COUNTIES ONE WESTERN WEST
PLYMSTOCK Oaks’ hopes of securing the Western West title disappeared on Saturday as they were convincingly beaten 57-19 away at fourth-placed Kingsbridge.
Oaks had started the day in second place just one point behind leaders Tiverton.
But with Tiverton picking up a bonus point win over Bideford, Oaks can no longer overtake them with just one game to go.
They have now dropped down to third, with Paignton, who they play on the final day, moving up to second place after beating the Pirates Amateurs.
Oaks had been nine points clear at the top of the table at the end of January, but their away form has cost them, losing their last five matches on their travels.
Head coach Lewis Paterson is disappointed his team have not taken the title race to the final week of the season, but he feels the club should be proud that they will finish in the top three in only their second season in the league.
“We have to look on it that we have come from third-from-bottom last year to sitting at the top of the league all season and have been the team to beat with basically the same group of players,” said Paterson. “That is a massive achievement, and the lads have to remember that.
“We are on the up and progressing. We have a lot of colts coming through and have developed as a team and we have played some really good rugby.
“It’s just come down to a few unavailabilities and a bit of inconsistency within training which has left us a little bit short-handed going into a couple of games where we should have got results.”
Paterson admitted Kingsbridge deserved their win on Saturday.
“They just wanted it more,” he said.
“Man for man we could have been a lot more physical, but they were really on their game. They performed like a top of the league side. Physicality wise they just out-did us.
“The boys did not give up, but they were very sharp in defence and closed a lot of space down. They were very good.
“We did okay, but after a couple of dubious calls and a couple of leaked tries I think we lost it mentally before we lost it physically.
“We were a bit like our old selves – when things weren’t going our way we just kind of imploded a little bit. It was a bit of a shame as we are better than that.
“But fair play to them. They know their pitch well and it was just one of those games where you just have to take your hats off to them.”
Corey Jamieson bagged two tries for Oaks, with Tom Richards also crossing the whitewash and Paterson kicking two conversions before injuring his ankle.
Tavistock will finish seventh or eighth in their first season in the league after they lost 28-10 away at Penryn, who have moved up to fifth after the victory.
The Cornish club’s win meant they finished with a 100 per cent home record, winning all 11 of their games at the Memorial Ground this season.
Tavistock had travelled with a bit of a makeshift team due to injuries and unavailabilities again.
“We were a bit cobbled together here and there, but the lads performed pretty well,” said Tavistock head coach Joel Caddy.
“In the last three games the lads have gone out and looked hungry.
“They could all walk off the pitch knowing they had performed to their best of their ability, and that’s all you can ask.
“There are some young lads in that team who are going to be talked about in years ahead at Tavvy as they have got big careers ahead of them.
“The lads enjoyed the game, but it just wasn’t the result we wanted.”
Jack Osborne was back for Tavistock and he helped their line-out function in windy conditions and they were really in the game in the first half.
Charles Bowden scored a fine try, breaking the line and then beating a couple of tackles to touch-down. His try was converted by George Hillson, who also added a penalty. But Penryn pulled away in the second half.
COUNTIES TWO CORNWALL
SALTASH will finish as runners-up for a second year running in Counties Two Cornwall after they were narrowly beaten 26-20 by title rivals Redruth II at Moorlands Lane in basically a winner-takes-all match.
Last season the Ashes were just edged out for promotion by St Ives, despite only losing one game all season.
This year they will finish with even more points than last year, but once again have missed out by the smallest of margins.
In both the last two seasons just missed kicks in the games that matter have cost them.
On Saturday they scored four tries – as they have done in every game this season – but in windy conditions were not able to convert any of them and they also crucially missed touch from penalties four times in the second half when looking to set up attacks.
The last failure to find touch in the closing minutes when they had the chance of a five-metre line-out ended up with Redruth going up the other end and scoring a fourth, and title winning, try.
“It is just small margins,” said a disappointed Saltash head coach Steve Down. “And I just hope they try and sort the leagues out or try and create some sort of play-off at least. If you have two teams dominating a league, which we have been with another team for the last two years, then it is frustrating not to go up.
“We didn’t get the rub of the green and made a few mistakes, so things did not pan out for us.
“It is gutting, especially when they all put in so much effort, but we made some silly mistakes which cost us the game.
“They (Redruth II) are a good side and there is a reason why they have won every game.
“I think they did their homework well and put us under pressure in the areas they knew they could and played well. They didn’t really have any weaknesses. I thought their defence was outstanding.
“We kept playing and got our four tries and a losing bonus point, but it’s not enough for promotion.
“You can see we have the fire-power and we can score tries against anyone, but ultimately it was very disappointing.
“There was such a fine balance between the two sides. There wasn’t a lot in it. The difference was we made some errors at key points and they didn’t. Their 10 is a pretty good kicker. They did put us under a lot of pressure with their kicking game.
“I just think we need to learn our lessons and keep building. This is a journey for a lot of young lads. Although we do have good experience in some key areas there are a lot of young lads out there and in the squad.”
Apart from the two games against Redruth II, Saltash have picked up a full five points from every other fixture and averaged more than 62 points in those matches, which just shows how far ahead they are above the other teams in the division and how frustrating it is that they face another season in the league.
Playing down the slope and with the wind, Saltash made a great start to the must-win game by scoring a catch-and-drive try through Ryan Rayner after less than three minutes.
But Saltash were unable to gather the restart and that put them under pressure. They did defend a five-metre line-out well but eventually impressive Redruth fly-half Dean Wills found a gap to go over for a try, which he also converted.
It got better for the visitors four minutes later when a box kick from Redruth swerved in the wind and Saltash full-back Ryan Cruickshanks could not gather it and Matt Bowden chased well and took advantage to dive on the ball in the in-goal area. Wills again added the conversion.
But in front of a big crowd the Ashes hit back and scored two tries in 10 minutes to go 15-14 in front.
First, prop Simon Nance, who made his 300th appearance for the club last weekend, scored from close range before Cruickshanks went over in the left corner after some great passing across the line by the home club.
And Saltash came out for the second half really strong and increased their lead to 20-14 when Rayner powered over from a tap penalty.
Both sides were defending really well and it did look like Saltash had taken a grip of the game.
Wills did miss a penalty for the visitors on 57 minutes before centre Andrewartha, who recently guested for the Cornish Pirates against the Royal Navy, took advantage of a rare missed tackle to score a crucial try for Redruth. Wills again converted to put his side one point ahead.
Saltash had their chances to go back in front. They wasted a number of penalties and were also penalised for a forward pass close to the line. Had they had an in-form goalkicker they probably would have gone for goal from a penalty on 73 minutes, but they opted to tap it and then knocked it on.
Then came the knock-out blow. With time running out, Saltash got another penalty. They tried to fire it into the corner but missed and Redruth gathered it and kicked it all the way down field. The visitors chased it well and forced Saltash into a hurried exit kick which the visitors picked up and led to Charlie Levick, who has made 20 appearances for Redruth’s first team this season, scoring on the left and sealing the win for his side, which ended Saltash’s two-year unbeaten home record.
COUNTIES TWO DEVON
PLYMOUTH Argaum claimed their first away win of the season as they overcame bottom side Ivybridge II 40-29 at Cross-in-Hand.
The win guarantees that Argaum will not finish in the bottom two, which should be enough to keep them in Counties Two Devon, although the number of teams relegated at level eight is not set in stone.
Tom Worboys led the way for Argaum with a hat-trick of tries, with Harry Hart, JJ Vom Hagen and Preston Wilkins also touching down and Jake Turfrey (2) and Cheyenne Edwards (3) adding conversions.
Ivybridge’s tries came from Aaron Joynt, Lewis Cook, Seb Musgrave, Craig Julian and Owen-Lee Provins, with Adam Sams kicking two conversions.
The hosts had gone 12-0 up early on, but Argaum responded with five unanswered tries before Ivybridge II regrouped in the second half.
“We had better availability this week,” said Argaum head coach Dean Avery. “But they (Ivybridge) came out of the blocks firing and scored two quick tries and we went 12-0 down with 10 minutes gone.
“But then the guys managed to keep hold of the ball, got used to the surface and broke a few tackles to score a few tries.
“Tom Worboys was outstanding. He scored a hat-trick and also turned over about four or five balls. He really showed his class on the pitch.
“It was just a lot better performance, although it was a bit disappointing to ship so many points.
“But all in all, there were a lot of positives.”
OPMs ended their home league campaign on a disappointing note as they were beaten 66-0 by Barnstaple II, who needed the win to clinch the title.
The visitors were 40-0 up at half-time after scoring six first half tries courtesy of Oliver James (2), Connor Swan, Ryan Lee, Ben Beattie and Ben Jago.
After the interval, Ryan Jago, Alex Penny, Tom Swales and Swan added further touch-downs.
“We can’t take anything away from them; they are top of the league for a reason,” said OPMs’ Billy Garratt.
“Their first team are a level five side and it is clear that they are training week-in, week-out with their first team.
“They are a good outfit, but unfortunately there were far too many missed tackles from us.
“Our mentality going into it was that we were going to put up a fight. The training sessions going into the game were really good, the warm-up was really good, but we just fell off.
“It was just a shame as it was our VPs and sponsors day. We had three teams out playing. Our Jesters were due to play Argaum II but they could only get five players whereas we had 40 so they ended up playing an in-house fixture.
“It was a really good day for the club, but it was just unfortunate about the loss.”
Devonport Services II are likely to finish third in the division after they lost 27-15 away at fourth-placed Exeter Saracens.
Kyle Felton, Toby Knowles and Jack Connor scored tries for Services II.
COUNTIES THREE
A LATE Rob Hall penalty secured Tamar Saracens a hard-earned 11-10 victory over big rivals Old Techs in a Devon South & West derby at Weston Mill.
It was the second time this season Sarries had just edged out their city neighbours, having won a tight contest at Brickfields 10-5 in December.
Techs did out-score Sarries on tries on Saturday, but they were unable to convert either of their efforts.
Hall gave Sarries the lead with a penalty, but Techs took a 5-3 advantage into half-time after Lewis Harvey scored following a maul.
After the interval, Joey Pook put Sarries back in front with a try before a lose Frazer Tatchell pass in his own 22 was intercepted by Jack Courtney who scored to make it 10-8 to Techs.
But with a few minutes to go, Sarries, who handed a debut to former Oaks number eight Ryan McKibbin, got a penalty, which Hall kicked to win the game for his side.
“It was a hard, hard win,” said Tamar Saracens’ Pete Lethbridge.
“It was not a pretty game; it was very tit-for-tat.
“I thought Techs’ forwards were outstanding. I said to them afterwards that if they can keep those players together that they will do well next season. They have closed the gap and I think they could be top three next year.”
Techs chairman David Evans said: “It was gutting as we out-scored them two tries to one and I thought we were the better side.
“It was disappointing, but the performance from the players was brilliant and we are consistently performing now.
“It is a case of onwards and upwards now. We have got a final and semi-final to look forward to.”
Plympton Victoria ended their home campaign on a high with a 32-21 victory over Torquay Athletic II at St Mary’s Field.
It was Plym Vic’s first win over the Tics’ second team, who had beaten them 66-21 away.
“It was a great way to end our season at home,” said Plym Vic’s Nathan Couzens. “It was brilliant and there was a really good team spirit.”
Jayson Cleverley scored two tries for Plym Vic, with Jordan Blair and Chris Barratt also touching down. Barratt also kicked three conversions and two penalties.
Ben Sharples, Joe Widdecombe and Nigel East scored converted tries for Torquay II.
Matt Jackson bagged five tries as Plymstock Oaks II ended their season at home with a 51-22 victory over Kingsbridge II.
There were also two tries for James Barnett, while Miti Caqara and Andy Porter also crossed the whitewash. Steve Cole (2) and captain Stu Collyer added conversions.
Collyer said afterwards: “As a second team we’ve come a hell of a long way since last season. Some of the scores last season could have been from cricket and we struggled for a team at times.
“This season has been the total opposite. We’ve had a strong team almost every week, and to play our last home game of the season and win so well really is the icing on the cake.
“The lads know the job is not done yet, we still have Paignton, and then a cup final with Old Techs, but this was a great way to end our home turf campaign.
“We were brilliant without really getting out of third gear. Matt Jackson was untouchable, James Barnett a constant thorn in their side, and Andy Porter his usual industrious and dangerous self, we also moved Tom Berenyi from his wing to flanker and he looked really good there.
“Special mention though must go to James Soper, who is planning on retiring at the end of the season so it was his final home game. Sopes is a club legend and he’s dug us out of many a hole, is always willing to give 110 per cent and do exactly what’s asked of him. It’s been a huge pleasure to play alongside him, and hopefully I can join him on the sidelines soon myself.”
Tavistock II were forced to hand Brixham II a walkover. It was the second week running they had been unable to field a side.
In Counties Three Cornwall, Saltash II enjoyed a 31-21 away win at Lankelly-Fowey, which guarantees them a top eight finish.
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