Brixham coach Thomas 'could not be prouder'

BRIXHAM dreams of reaching the Twickenham final of the Papa John's Regional One Championship were shattered by a dramatic 31-27 defeat by Oundle at a packed-out Astley Park.

- by CONRAD SUTCLIFFE

A crowd estimated at nearly 2,000 went through a range of emotions as Brixham fought back from 17-0 down to lead 27-24 with time almost up.

Brixham gave away a midfield penalty, which Oundle kicked into touch to set-up one last opportunity to score from a line-out routine.

The Fishermen had hoped to combat the threat of a catch-drive move by not contesting the line-out, which would have avoided having an offside line to breech. It did not work.

Oundle No 8 Conor Gracey spotted a gap in in the Brixham defence and ploughed through it to put his side back in front. The successful conversion kick was the last act of the game.

Adam Thomas, the Brixham coach, summed it up when he said: "It was a brutal way to lose.

"We came back from 17-0 down to take the lead, went behind again, then thought we had won it with three minutes to go.