South Leicester scored a County Cup double at Welford Road on Tuesday evening with victory in the under-18s and senior men's finals.The results capped a memorable season for the Wigston club following their league promotion, but they did not have it all their own way in either game at the home of the Leicester Tigers.
First, South had to come from 6-0 down against Hinckley in the Laurence Fenton Under-18 County Cup Final to win 10-9.
Then, after racing into a 22-3 lead against Syston in senior event, their rivals produced an incredible fightback to lead 24-22 before South finally responded to take their second trophy of the night in a 34-27 triumph in front of a large and appreciative crowd.
Former Tigers wing Lee Robinson gave South an early lead, with Rickie Aley, another one-time Tiger, adding the conversion and a penalty to establish a winning platform.
Then hooker Wes Cole grabbed the first of his three tries as he made the most of a mistake at a Syston lineout to dart to the line and suddenly the lead was 15 points.
After Adam Nunney had put Syston on the scoreboard with a penalty, South responded with a penalty try at a close-range maul and Aley chipped the extra points for a 22-3 lead.
But from the half-hour mark, Syston added 18 unanswered points before half-time to really bring the game to life.
First, fly-half Ian Smith blocked a hacked clearance and won the race to touch down for the touchdown for their opening try, then flanker Jamie Skerritt finished a smart attack on the right to score. Nunney added two penalties and a conversion as the deficit was cut to a single point and it could have been even better, as his conversion attempt from Skerritt’s score hit the top of the post from out wide on the right.
With their tails up, and their support in good voice, Syston started the second half in similar style, Nunney giving them the lead for the first time with a 40-metre penalty, before South finally regained their composure.
First, Cole put the finishing touch to an impressive lineout drive, with Aley adding an important conversion.
But Syston were still not done, with Nunney bringing the scores back to 29-27 with another penalty as the game approached the 75-minute mark.
Cole, though, had the final word, completing a hat-trick of tries as he capitalised on a left-wing break from the defending champions to score and stretch the lead to seven points with just two minutes remaining and South pinned their rivals in their own half before the final whistle brought an enthralling contest to a close.
A try from centre Matt Cooke had earlier proved decisive in an under-18 final dominated by defences.
Two penalties from fly-half Callum Rowe had put Hinckley six points ahead at half-time before Cooke swooped on loose ball on the edge of the Hinckley 22 to run in the only try of the game 10 minutes into the second half.
Rowe quickly added a third kick to put Hinckley in front once again before before replacement Spencer Gardiner landed a penalty for South Leicester which proved to be the final points of the contest.
But they still had to survive one particularly determined attack from Hinckley, who thought they had scored through Dan Reeves after a drive for the line, only to be denied by the referee, and then also had a chance when Rowe took aim with a penalty from halfway with the last kick of the match but saw his effort fall short as South picked up their first win of the evening.
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County Cup double at Welford Road
8 April 2015 7:55 AM
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