Plymouth College Under 18s had a very positive day at Taunton RFC on Sunday where they made it through the elimination sections of the tournament before narrowly missing out on overall victory in the final.
Plymouth’s first opponents were Prior Park College from Bath. After a strong first half during which Plymouth scored four tries, Prior Park fought back strongly, but were not able to close the gap sufficiently and a first win was secured by a score line of 29-17. Plymouth grew in stature during the tournament and accounted for Taunton School 26-5 and Queens Taunton 29-12 in their next two games. The squad were working with a new defensive structure and with each game came improved execution of the plan, both from kick offs and open play.
Next in line were Bristol Grammar School, who were one of the threats in the group stages. However, despite conceding early on, Plymouth stepped up a level and ran out 33-10 at the final whistle. Wycliffe were the final opponent before the final and although Plymouth were feeling the effects of three games in quick succession, they ultimately proved too strong and finished off the elimination stages with a 38-15 win and a playing record of five wins from five.
In the final, Plymouth were against Blundell’s and in a high quality final were very close to causing an upset. Sadly, it was not to be and Plymouth were beaten by 5 tries to 3. The players worked hard and have still more potential to improve before their next tournament in Hereford on the 5th March.
Squad: Tom Brooker, Peter Loxdale, Jonah Moore, Albert Slade, Toby Farley, Paddy Hutchings, George Hillson, Thom Leman, Harry Brewerton, Keanu Joubert, Al Spicer, Will Cane, Josh Hellings.