Sidmouth Under-14s edged their way into the semi-finals of the Devon Cup under the ‘away side rule’, after their quarter-final tie at Newton Abbot ended 5-5.

From the kick-off, Sidmouth came under intense pressure, but they ran their way out of trouble on what was a wet and slow surface.

Some consistent and resilient tackling kept the home team at bay with everyone playing their part, but Sidmouth were never really able to build any pressure at the other end of the pitch.

The only score of the first half came after the home side crossed the whitewash following a five metre scrum and the teams trooped off at the break with just five points between them. In the second half Sidmouth enjoyed the benefits of the wind and the elements played their part as the home team was forced to play on the back foot and they struggled to get out of their own half. What plagued the Sidmouth effort were number of handling errors which resulted in good opportunities to score being lost. However, Sidmouth continued to attack and sustained pressure was eventually rewarded with a try being scored out wide. The home side hit back and it was them who were pressing in the closing minutes, but, aware of the 'away team rule', Sidmouth stood firm to keep Newton Abbot at arm's length to close the game out with honours even at 5-5, but Sidmouth on their way to the last four! This match certainly was nail-biting and thrilling. It was played in a great spirit and was indeed a fantastic example of junior rugby. The support that Sidmouth had was also very good and now they can look forward to a home semi-final with Brixham set to be the opposition for a cup tie to be played on February 9 (11am).