THE Plymouth rugby community will descend on the Rectory on Monday for their first cup finals day.
The Plymouth Combination have traditionally held their finals over two mid-week evenings, but this year they have decided to hold them all on one day as a festival of rugby.
The first final will be the Pedrick Cup at 12noon featuring Devon South & West sides Plympton Victoria and Plymstock Oaks II.
That will be followed by the Ellis Trophy final at 2pm which will be between Old Techs and Devonport Services III.
The RNEC Cup final will follow at 4pm and will see Liskeard-Looe and the University of Plymouth II battle it out.
And, finally, at 6pm will be the Lockie Cup final featuring Counties Two champions Devonport Services II and Counties Three Devon South & West side Plymouth Argaum.
Gates at the Rectory will open at 11.30am and entry for all the finals will be £8.
All the teams are looking forward to the day and are aiming to end the season with some silverware.
Devonport Services have already bagged three trophies this season with their first team winning Regional One South West and their seconds the Counties Two Devon title and the Devon 2nd XV Cup. But they want to add to that tally by bagging the Lockie Cup and Ellis Trophy.
“We’ll see how we go,” said head coach Ben Russell.
“If they twos win then they get a treble for the first time in the club’s history.
“And the threes team is pretty good. It is all players who have played for the threes this year and some youngsters who haven’t been able to play for the twos. There are some old heads in there, along with some youngsters, so it’s a nice mix.”
Their third team, who are set to enter the league system next season, will be up against Old Techs, who have finished in the top four of Counties Three Devon South & West for the past two seasons.
Techs admit they have had no shortage of players wanting to feature in Monday’s cup final.
“It was hard really as we had 26 players to choose from and there is only space for 20,” said Techs’ Shaun Bedford-Smith.
“There are some disappointed players, but we have explained to them that they have been part of it all season and we just can’t fit everyone in. I suppose it is a good selection headache to have.
“It would be good to end the season with some silverware, but it’s not a given.
“The players have worked and trained hard this season. Training numbers have been good, which is the most pleasing thing. The lads have been brilliant.
“We also had a good season last year as well, but I do think there is still more to come with these players.
“Devonport Services III are a bit of an unknown quantity. However, we know the amount of players they have to select from with the size of their club.
“I would imagine it will be some older guys who have played at a good standard and maybe they will throw some colts in there as well. Their seconds have a good squad to choose from so there might be some fringe twos players. They will be full of good and quality players.
“Their first team has done well, there second team have done well and their thirds will want to top it off. It is up to us to try and stop them claiming a clean sweep.
“We will be in a for a tough game, but all the players are looking forward to it.”
Plymouth Argaum have been struggling to get a team together to face Services II in the Lockie Cup, but they have been given permission by the Combination to strengthen their squad for the final.
“We are in a situation where it is a bank holiday weekend and we have lads working, injuries, people away and visiting family and we are really struggling for a backline,” said head coach Dean Avery.
“We have talked to the Combination and will are likely to bring some lads into the backline just to make sure it is a competitive game.
“It is about trying to give Devonport Services a good game of rugby.
“It is my last game and I don’t want to go out on a 116-point thumping like Tavistock suffered at the hands of them.”
The first cup final of the day between Plympton Victoria and Plymstock Oaks II should be a good one.
Oaks II won 34-17 at Horsham Fields in October but Plym Vic got their revenge at St Mary’s Field in March, winning 22-12.
“We are looking forward to the game,” said Plym Vic chairman Chris Hunt.
“The lads have worked really hard all season and have really stuck at it and it’s nice to earn a reward and have the chance to play in a cup final.
“The lads are properly looking forward to it and are making a day of it.
“And there’s a chance to get something out of it, if we play our cards right and keep our heads about us.
“We’ve got a full team, a full bench and a couple of travelling reserves just in case.
“We are looking as good as we can be, although we do have a couple of injuries floating around the club.”
Oaks II will be reasonably strong, with Sean Wills, Josh Waters and Josh Breed making up their front-row and Nathan Akers on the bench, while in the backs they will feature talented youngsters like Ed Coombs and Max Ringrose, who have tasted some first team action. However, it will be a similar side to the one that played Plym Vic previously in the league.
CUP FINAL DAY SCHEDULE
12noon – Pedrick Cup final – Plympton Victoria v Plymstock Oaks II
2pm – Ellis Trophy final – Old Techs v Devonport Services III
4pm – RNEC Cup final – Liskeard-Looe v University of Plymouth II
6pm – Lockie Cup final – Devonport Services II v Plymouth Argaum