Kent hold on to take honours in thriller

KENT secured back-to-back County Championship titles at Twickenham as Taff Gwilliam's side edged a thrilling final that displayed how cruel rugby can be.

-  Ben Jaycock

Hull Ionians centre Lewis Minikin had been deadeye off the tee before succumbing to the pressure on the big stage.

Minikin missed a tough conversion from out wide with three minutes remaining but was then presented with a golden chance to seal Yorkshire's first title since 2008 as he stepped back for what looked a routine penalty 22m out.

However, instead of elation Minikin threw his tee into the surface in frustration after just slicing the penalty wide and instead it was Kent who revelled in victory.

Kent director of rugby Gwilliam led his county to their first title in 96 years last year and was thrilled to do it all over again.

He said: "It's a fantastic achievement for us, it's been a few years in the making with what we've done in Kent within our community rugby. It started back in 2008 when we took a development team to south west France and then regular tours to help provide a strong culture.

"The spine of the squad is the same with youngsters all coming through our development programme. Virtually all the boys out there have come through that pathway which is brilliant to see."