Sidmouth drew a tough set of pool matches at the Devon Rugby Festival at Devonport Services, writes Craig Morgan.

First up were Ivybridge and having lost to them 0-7 the week before, a 1-0 defeat was a reasonable achievement. Next up were last year's beaten finalists Kingsbridge and a 0-0 draw was frustrating for both teams. Jack Jenkins took the first two Cadbury's sponsored tackle of the match with a couple of corkers ! The last game was offering an early bath or the chance to move into the knock-out stages of the third ranked Plate finals. South Molton took to the pitch. Sidmouth's guile and running game took the mid Devon outfit apart 4-0. Josh Roberts (player of the tournament) regularly caught the eye with a masterful display in the ruck.

This set up a semi-final clash with hosts Devonport who duly surrendered 3-0 to Sidmouth. Moving into the main Devonport Stadium, Sidmouth took a battering in the first half , against Newton Abbot, but kept them out and returned the favour in the second half. Will Kennaugh fronted the 'hard-man' tackle count and came within inches of breaking the deadlock. At the final whistle a 0-0 result was decided on the toss of a coin. Lady luck deserted us and Newton Abbot took the supreme accolade.

Squad: Joshie Roberts, Finlay Johnson, Jack Jenkins, Alex Peacock, Max Dix, Ben Hushon, Sam Bond, Cole Monaghan, Finlay Morgan, Louis Stamp, Will Kennaugh, Jamie Wyant & Ollie Jones.