Late heartbreak for Brixham in national semi-final

Brixham RFC came within minutes of reaching a trip to the rugby mecca of Twickenham and a place in the Papa Johns National Cup Final.

On a day of immense drama at Astley Park, the Fishermen fought back from a roaring start by their visitors from Oundle RFC in Peterborough, and could almost taste victory, only to be beaten by the final play of the game.

Despite the late heartbreak, Brixham Head Coach Adam Thomas described the pride felt by everybody at the club and in the local community.

“We had a huddle and, for the first time in a while, I was struggling to find the words,” said Thomas. “They’re massively disappointed, as am I, but I’m more upset for the guys.

“Their efforts were outstanding and to be pipped in the last play is pretty heart-wrenching.

“We did great to come back into the game. It was a lovely sunny day, but the wind was strong, and hard to play out. We had a lot of confidence we could come back into the game, which we did, and I’m just gutted for the guys.

“For how hard they’ve worked all season, I really wanted them to come away with something. We pull the strings (as coaches), but the guys have got to go out there and make it happen. They do it every week and I’m massively proud of them all.

“They will be upset but the whole town is proud of them, the support was fantastic and they (the players) should know how much everybody thinks of them.”

Facing an extremely powerful set of forwards in the Oundle team, Brixham struggled to contain in the early stages and quickly fell 12-0 behind. The scrum, in particular, was a tough struggle for the Fishermen, as Oundle extended their lead to 17 points.

Andre Simonetti finally dived over to give the home crowd something to cheer and when Louie Drennan intercepted a loose pass to score, momentum was in the Brixham ranks. A penalty from Mitch Pinkus brought the scores level at the break and 1,500 home fans roared their approval.

A monster penalty from Pinkus then gave Brixham a three-point lead but Oundle responded with a try, 20-24 on the hour. Back to the Fishermen, and Tommie Drennan scored a converted try with just three minutes to play.

Twickenham was in sight but more powerful forward play from the visitors created one last opportunity. After a slick lineout move, Oundle found the space to dot down and win an epic game, 27-31.

“Oundle’s forward pack was pretty formidable, they’ve got some big guys and we were under pressure at times,” added Thomas. “In the second half, our scrum shored itself up. Ultimately, it came down to a forward battle and we just came out second best.

“For a small little town like Brixham, we should be really proud of what we’ve done and what we’re building here. We will have a few weeks off now and then get straight back at it.”