By Ian Wadley. Published here with kind permission of the Daily Echo, and Ian Wadley.
THE home crowd at Chapel Gate got the result they wanted as Bournemouth Lions won the South West Cup by defeating bitter rivals Oakmeadians.
Lions skipper Dan Cawley, who is to relinquish the club’s captaincy this summer, signed off in style by crossing for two second-half tries as Bournemouth came back from a 14-0 deficit to record a 27-21 victory.
Bournemouth coach David Dunn was quick to heap praise on Cawley.
He said: “Dan Cawley has been a fantastic captain for the side. “He’s going to stand down as captain next season and that was a tremendous way for him to finish his time as captain. “He was outstanding throughout the whole tournament.”
Cawley sparked his side’s revival by scoring early in the second half after Oaks had come flying out of the blocks in the final.
Having lost to Bournemouth in Saturday’s group stages, Oaks had a point to prove and set about their task immediately.
Tries from Bonny and Ken Maritire opened up a 14-0 cushion before Sam Hardcastle scored to give Bournemouth a glimmer of hope going into the break.
Cawley’s five-pointer brought Bournemouth back to 12-14 but Maritire again went clear to give Oaks a nine-point lead.
Spurred on by a vocal home crowd, Dunn’s team refused to throw in the towel and Anthony Dunkerley went over in the corner before Cawley scored his second of the game to put Bournemouth into a 22-21 lead.
And the verdict was put beyond doubt when Dunkerley scored again, leaving Dunn delighted with his side’s efforts.
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He said: “The character of our side came through and it was just a massive fightback in the second half.“These players just don’t know when they’re beaten. The right team won it in the end.”
Dunn added: “It’s been a tremendous weekend and for the home team to win the South West Cup, I couldn’t be more pleased,” the Lions coach told the Daily Echo. “Hats off to Roger Woodall and his people at Diamond Sports – it’s been brilliant for the club and the area. “This really is the icing on the cake that our side has gone out there and battled and won that cup against all the odds.”
Captain Marcus Atkins was the hero for Wimborne as the local sides made it a clean sweep in the South West Cup competitions.
Atkins scored with just a few seconds remaining as Wimborne beat Winchester 31-26 to win the Plate.
Oaks ladies went some way towards making up for the club’s disappointment in the men’s competition by storming to victory in the final of the ladies’ Plate competition.
They defeated Portsmouth 51-0 to claim the silverware.
The showpiece National Invitation Cup final brought an end to the rugby proceedings last night, with Stash Allstars running out 17-5 victors against Samurai Barracudas.
The National Ladies Cup was won by Wooden Spoon, who recorded a resounding 28-5 victory over Pirates.
The Echo-backed Sevens attracted a staggering 20,000 people across the two-day event. |
