PICTURES: Cup rugby match reports

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DEVON JUNIOR VASE  SECOND ROUND

PLYMOUTH ARGAUM 13 PLYMSTOCK ALBION OAKS 10

PLYMOUTH Argaum snatched a last-gasp victory over city rivals Plymstock Albion Oaks with a try in practically the last play of the game at a windswept Bickleigh Down.

Scrum-half Luke Kenny peeled off the back of a scrum not 10 metres from Oaks’ try line and arrowed over to touch down as the visitors’ defence waited for him to pass. Tom Richards landed his conversion attempt a split second before the full-time whistle blew to send Argaum through to the third round.

The Devon Two leaders, up against Devon One Oaks, had looked down and out minutes before when Ben Ockey opened a hitherto low-scoring game up with the first try of the game with less than 15 minutes remaining.

Ollie Marshall, who had earlier kicked a penalty for the visitors, appeared to have killed off the match with a well-taken conversion which gave Oaks a 10-6 lead.

With both sides having given their all to prevent the other scoring a try, it seemed the fire had gone out of Argaum.

But the Devon Two side demonstrated why they lead their division by gathering themselves for one final attempt.

They camped in Oaks’ half as the final minutes ticked by, although the visitors appeared to have tamed the Chiefs when they were handed the chance to clear the ball via a line-out.

Argaum, their blood still up after narrowly missing a scoring opportunity seconds earlier, took the ball to virtually the Oaks’ try-line, where they appeared to have been halted once again.

Kenny, probably the best player on the pitch, took a leaf out of Ockey’s book, receiving the ball in traffic, turning his man, and darting over for the winner.

Oaks were left with their hearts in their boots as Richards belted over the conversion.

Both teams should be credited with staging a game of any kind on a day when it would have been easier to tuck their heads under the covers and stay in bed.

Around an hour of the game had been spent by both sides keeping the ball in near gale-force conditions and trying to punch a hole through their opponent’s defence. Neither side were in any mood to hand out early Christmas presents and, inevitably, the early scores were penalties.

Richards replied to Marshall’s earlier effort, then added a second to give his side a precarious 6-3 lead.

A try by either side looked unlikely until Ockey’s touchdown sparked a final 10 minutes of out and out drama.

Argaum head coach Dave Sansom metaphorically wiped the sweat from his brow after the game and said: “I was a bit worried when Oaks powered us off the ball in the first few minutes, but after that, we coped with their pack very well.

“Oaks are a good side who I think will do well in Devon One this season and I am very pleased with the result.

“If we are fortunate enough to get promoted, this is the sort of challenge we are going to be facing every week.”

DEVON JUNIOR CUP

NEW CROSS 18 OLD TECHS 21

OLD Techs are in the quarter-finals after standing up to a New Cross whirlwind in the second half.

Techs will play either Plymouth rivals Tamar Saracens or Totnes, who were supposed to meet on Saturday, but who got rained off.

Devon One Techs took the lead through a Billy Evans drop-goal, but were pinned back by a home try. Phil Ingleson restored the visitors’ lead and although New Cross equalised with a try, touchdowns by Neil Herbert and Danny Bond gave Techs a 13-8 half-time lead.

A Ryan Tunnicliffe penalty in the second half kept Techs’ noses in front, although an unconverted New Cross try kept the contest interesting.

Techs chairman John Young said: “New Cross came out strong in the second half and we defended really well to keep them out.

“Hopefully, now we can take this form into the league when it starts again in January.”

Elsewhere, OPMs’ national cup game with Pirates Amateurs was wiped out by the weather, as was DHSOB’s Devon Junior Vase match with Ilfracombe.

Plympton Victoria were due to play Salcombe in the vase, but a crop of injuries persuaded them to hand the tie to their scheduled opponents Salcombe.

NATIONAL INTERMEDIATE CUP

PENRYN 13 IVYBRIDGE 36

IVYBRIDGE wiped clean the stain of being beaten by local rivals Kingsbridge last weekend with a pulsating victory at Western Counties West rivals Penryn.

The Bridgers, who lead their division, had two players sin-binned in the second period but were still too strong for the Cornish side, who were ripped apart by tries from George de Mendonca (2), Hayden Coles, Tom Scoles and Lewis Patterson, the rest of their points being kicked by either Matt Grieveson or Luke Martell.

Man of the match was undoubtedly second-row George Wilson, who was involved in setting up much of the try-scoring.

Ivybridge have lost just two matches since the season began in September, both to South Hams neighbours Kingsbridge.

Coach Neil Thomson was ready to pledge his services to the club next season on the back of what the team has achieved in just three months.

He said: “It’s just a great club to be at. When we started the season, we were looking at maybe finishing half-way, but we’ve more than exceeded our target so far. If you look at it, we’ve had a brilliant 2013, winning the Devon Cup and I’ve already told the players that I’m proud of what they’ve done this year.”

He added: “If we get promoted, I’d love to be involved the following season and I’m sure Paul Setter (head of rugby) feels the same.

“We’ve had some difficult times – we were nearly relegated two years ago – but it’s been going really well this season. That’s down to the hard work put in by the players and, I think, some reasonable coaching thrown in.”

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PICTURES: Cup rugby match reports