HE MAY be gutted about losing the county rugby championship but Devon's No.8 Brett Luxton is determined the team will be back next year.
The former Okehampton player said he was disappointed with the 16-9 result which saw Yorkshire take home the trophy but believed the side had played well.
'In the first half we had the majority of the possession and had Yorkshire on their line for most of the time,' he said.
'I think if we had got a try in the early stages it would have been a different result, but as it was Yorkshire scored a breakaway try and we were playing catch up for the rest of the game.'
Brett, whose wife, Jo, mum and dad and friends from Okehampton were among the Twickenham crowd, said the support from the Devon fans really spurred the lads on.
'It was a really emotional thing to walk out of the tunnel and hear this big roar,' he said. 'The whole team were really charged up — it is difficult not to get excited in a situation like this.'
The 23-year-old player, who is believed to be the first person connected with Okehampton Rugby Club ever to appear at Twickenham, said his dream would be to play in a Devon versus Cornwall challenge next year in the final.
'If we play like we did this season I see no reason why we should not be at Twickenham in the final again in 2001.
'I think next time we will be able to concentrate more on winning the game — this year it was a great achievement to get to Twickenham and everyone was in awe of playing there.'
He said he really had to drag himself up the steps to collect the runners-up medal.
'It should be a special occasion in its own right but I was so gutted we lost,' he said. 'A few pints later though I began to see the lighter side.'