Devon hitting form at just the right time
LAST season’s finalists Devon take on Cumbria in the Division 3 final today and head coach Greg Richards says they’re hitting their straps at the right time, riding a wave of momentum.
Devon were beaten by Notts, Lincs & Derbys 34-22 in the final last year and this time face a Cumbria side that topped pool 1 and possess a free scoring attack with 171 points accumulated from their three outings.
Richards’ side qualified for Twickenham through a 12-0 win at Middlesex, a 7-0 victory at home to Dorset & Wilts and a 41-19 triumph over Sussex.
“We’ve gelled really well and the team have built on that,” Richards told The Rugby Paper.
“The last 50 minutes of the previous game showed how we’ve grown the right way. It started off slow, we were meant to have a warm up game which got cancelled, so we went straight into the Championship. Luckily we won the first game and have since built momentum.
“Our forwards have been really strong, our front row has been impactful but most people in the squad have done really well in general. We’ve had a few girls that have played their first ever senior games for the county and have stood up well at just 18. This year’s squad is stronger than last year’s overall, so selection has been hard every week.”
Despite Cumbria’s deadly attack, Richards says they are very much concentrating on themselves.
He added: “I’ll take a look at the video of their last game to see if there’s anything obvious that stands out but we try to concentrate on ourselves because we haven’t played any of the same teams, so it’s hard to get a grasp on them.”