Devizes 1st XV - Tribute Southern Counties South Champions 2021/2022

Mon 11 Apr 2022 19:42

Devizes 1st XV wrapped up the Tribute Southern Counties South title on Saturday afternoon with a bonus point triumph against Swindon College Old Boys, winning 44-22.  In a nervous performance from this young Saddleback side, they managed to secure the fourth try in the third quarter of the game and then held off an unlikely come back from the home side who were buoyed by giving skipper Gareth Davis a big send off as the Swindon College club legend will be stepping down as club captain after 13 seasons at the helm.

The title success is a phenomenal achievement from this Devizes side who ended up with the league's top try scorer, Lewis Dodds, with 21 tries and the league's top point scorer in fly half Matt Tinker, amassing nearly 150 points.  Pivotal wins throughout the season were largely on the road, not least Swindon away just before Christmas and then the wins against traditional bogey sides, Yeovil and Combe Down in January and February indicated that Devizes were more than a match for all teams in the league and more.  Only Salisbury continued to be a thorn in their side, winning both league battles unfortunately.  Crucially, Devizes secured not just a losing bonus point, but a try bonus point through a late Oscar Conroy-Purbrick brace in that 31-24 defeat against their Wiltshire rivals just a few weeks ago.  This meant that Devizes going into the final three games of the season had a narrow one point advantage, and this was enough following three big performances to secure the title.

Director of Rugby Joe Alford said: 

"Winning the title, alongside the 2nd XV finishing second with promotion, has been the result of four years of hard work by a lot of people. The players deserve huge credit for evolving the squad culture into one of commitment and hard work mixed with a love of playing rugby with their mates. The current coaches and managers, and those of past seasons, have been instrumental in helping this group of players fulfil their potential. The committee has done so much unseen work, facing real challenges, to allow the coaches and players to focus on getting better on the field. And finally it wouldn't have been possible without the support from both the touchline and the player's and coaches families. Thank you to all who have been involved.  We've achieved our vision of four years ago. I'm looking forward to setting new goals with the club, and excited about chasing them down."

Devizes head into Level 6 buoyed by this season's achievements and will look forward to the challenges this will bring.  In addition to this sucess, the 2nd XV managed to finish comfortably in 2nd in Tribute Dorset & Wilts North 2, which means they will likely join Pewsey Vale at level 8 next season, given the various level restructuring going on.

A big thank you to the players, coaches, volunteers, committee members, physios, supporters and anyone else who has supported the club and the team this season.

UP THE 'VIZE!

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