By LUKE JARMYN
Devon and Hampshire claimed the honours in the second day of the County Championships final weekend at Twickenham on Sunday.
It was a double delight for Devon, with their women dominating Cumbria 53-12 to win the Gill Burns Division 3 crown before the Devonian men beat North Midlands 39-20 in the Bill Beaumont Division 3 final.
Devon 53-12 Cumbria – Gill Burns Cup Women’s Division 3
As the morning rain gave way to sunshine in south-west London, Devon’s women opened the scoring with vice-captain Charleigh Hopkin skirting around Carlisle fly-half Sarah Smith to score on the right.
Cumbria battled straight back, getting on the right side of the referee, and on the 17th some fantastic interplay from their midfield created the space on the right for winger Josie Scrimgour to open up fullback Bethan Lloyd to slide over on the right.
Upper Eden inside-centre Lucy Branthwaite’s superb conversion from the touch line gave the north-west county a 7-5 lead.
A great 40 metre break from Devon fly-half Mollie Pepper led to centre Abby Woollet dashing over on the 26thminute to retake the lead, and Greg Richards’ side never looked back.
With a clear physical edge, they wore Cumbria down, tighthead Charlotte Gale bundled over in the right corner just after the half-hour mark.
Hopkin scored her second try at the start of the second-half, before No.8 Megan Heath claimed two tries, and replacements Phoebe Reed, Chloe Huxter, and Pepper all dotted down to complete the nine try win. Kendal centre Hayley Hodgson scored a late consolation for Cumbria.
Devon 39-20 North Midlands – Bill Beaumont Cup Division 3
Devon fullback Joel Ashworth put in a pivotal performance, scoring 14 points from the tree as Dan Parkes’ men’s side proved too much for North Midlands.
The Midlanders struck first on the ninth minute with a fantastic counter attack from their own 22-metre area, scrum-half Joe Carter’s box-kick finding a hole in the green-and-white line, and some wonderous footballing skill by inside centre William Tanner led to Tom Sadler getting his hands on the ball to slide over.
Devon’s forward dominance started to take effect, and winger Matt Crosscombe crossed before Ashworth’s penalty gave them an 8-7 lead.
The south-west side never looked back, scrum-half George Hillson and replacement Kai Allton crossing the whitewash before some great running rugby through centre Nick Headley and Ashworth’s hands set up Crosscombe to spring over for his second try on the 73rd minute.
North Midlands replacement Sam Brown crossed in the second-half, with centre Will Tanner slotting eight points off the tee.
Hampshire 43-12 Durham – Gill Burns Women’s Division 2
The weekend celebration of grassroots rugby finished with Hampshire women claiming the Division 2 title by getting a six try 43-12 win over Durham County.
Hampshire outside-centre Rose Brown was the star player for the south coast side, scoring a try and 11 points from the tee while being ever-present in both attack and defence.
Fullback Abi Pearson confidently dashed over left of the posts on the fourth minute, with Brown side-stepping the burgundy line to extend their lead.
Durham loosehead Tamsin Thompson muscled over on the right during the 20th minute, and skipper Marguerite Julia converted.
Hampshire lock Carol Carol-Ann Tennant barrelled over with support from blindside Victoria Horsfield on the cusp of half-time.
A wonderful cut back inside by Durham centre Jess Clabby on Hampshire Rebecca Fenn to make it a seven-point game.
But then it was Hampshire, Nina Hoadley side-stepping to dive over to capitalise on a Durham mistake just after Brown’s penalty kick was too short on the 49th minute.
Hampshire replacement Cerys Ralph skirted round to score on the right at the hour-mark, before a mix of forward dominance and a quick switch in play from left to right allowed Pearson to set up Nina Hoadley to dot down in the final play and complete the win.
For exclusive stories and all the detailed rugby news you need, subscribe to The Rugby Paper website, digital edition, or newspaper from as little as 14p a day.
