Devon Intermediate cup final

Bideford 51

THE curtain came down on Okehampton's season on Sunday; unfortunately the campaign finished with a whimper rather than a bang, as the Okes produced a lacklustre performance against a Bideford side they had already defeated twice this year.

Okehampton made the worst possible start with uncharacteristic hesitation after an ordinary kick ahead resulted in a five metre home lineout. A catch and drive resulted in an unconverted score for home flanker Matt Dennis with less than two minutes on the clock. The Okes were not rattled too greatly and looked comfortable for the first half hour of the game. They rallied and levelled proceedings almost immediately after a good backs move saw centre Kevin Dennis cross for a try.

Okes backs were finding holes in wide channels, and nearly scored again before Ollie Wickett regained the lead for the hosts with a simple penalty chance.

Okehampton's first injury then struck as Tom McGratton was forced off after 20 minutes.

The Okes had the edge outside at this point still, and they scored again after 25 minutes, when a missed pass created an overlap on the left flank for winger Luke Honeychurch to cross for a try converted by fly half Carl Poynton.

Wickett for Bideford quickly struck again to reduce the lead to one point, but with half an hour gone things were even.

Then inexplicably the Okes self destructed and the game drifted away from them in dramatic fashion. First a set backs move resulted in a converted try for winger Sam Olde. Then right on half time the ball was spilled and weak tackling allowed Olde to cross again and take the half-time score to 23-12.

Okehampton were shell-shocked but were still in the match. They did not start the second period too badly, and despite losing full back Matt Dennis, winger Honeychurch and fly half Carl Poynton at varying intervals, they remained 11 points behind 15 minutes into the second half. Then an intercepted pass within Oke's 22 saw a score under the posts that finally broke the Okehampton effort.

Injuries, tiredness and the efforts of a long season then came home to roost. In a very un Okehampton-like last quarter, the visitor's defence crumbled.

Sam Turner and Kevin Dennis continued to defend impeccably, but too many tackles were missed, the defence became stretched and Bideford waltzed through the holes that appeared. The Okes heads began to drop, and the hosts rattled up another three converted tries to secure the trophy in emphatic style.

A last gasp penalty try, awarded at scrum time, was all the beleaguered Okes could muster in a second half where the lineout had been one of many poor areas. The final whistle went at 51-12, with Bideford deservedly retained the cup.

Adam Holliday on behalf of the club said: 'Hopefully this was a one off for the Okes, and it should not detract completely from what has been a solid, decent, if unspectacular season.

'Another fifth placed finish in the league is a sign of the consistency of the side, and the team was challenging at the right end of the table for most of the season. 'Hopefully next year will be one of progress, and with a very strong, successful colts side in situe, more players can rise through the ranks and compete for a first team place as the side continues to develop all its own talent.'

Pictures by Ian Snell