Having viewed their second team lose narrowly in a fiercely contested Ellis Cup final, defending champions Tavistock First XV were in no mood to relinquish their grip on the Lockie Cup, writes Mark Lamerton.

Tavistock were immediately on the front foot with scrum half Charles Bowden moving the ball swiftly. Centre Ethan Lamerton broke clear and was stopped just a metre from the line. Tavi continued to press but had to make do with a three-point penalty kicked by Bowden after Devonport Services infringed.

This was soon followed by a fine solo effort from centre Jake La Gassick, who utilised his deceptively elusive running skills to race in from the halfway line. Bowden added the conversion.

Tavistock now started to dominate and Bowden and fly-half Andrew Yates moved the ball effectively, trying to utilise the wider channels. Flanker Jack Lewis was prominent in midfield, making yards, and it was the forwards that added to Tavi’s tariff after a well-worked catch-and-drive from a line-out saw hooker Hammy Kerswill power over from close range. Bowden converted.

This was shortly followed by a powerful run from Jamie Legg, who busted his way over from the 22-metre line. Services then started to find their feet and after some good kicking out-of-hand from veteran Matty Anstis, they applied pressure in Tavi’s half. Former Tavi favourite Mark Friend drove over wide on the right-hand side.

Tavistock bounced back when Bowden added a second penalty, but Services had the last word of the half when their winger scored on the left after another clever kick from Anstis.

The second half saw the momentum stay with Services and they continued to press Tavistock’s line but the Moorlanders defence held strong and full-back Al Spicer fielded Devonport’s kicks and returned with interest.

Tavi emptied their bench and prop Richard Cann made an impact in the scrum and Andrew Schuttkacker was soon in the thick of it with several barnstorming runs and tackles. Services still pressed and they looked to have scored when their left wing broke clear. Tavi winger Liam Watts however, managed to chase down his opponent and bundled him into touch just short of the line.

This fine defensive effort seemed to knock the wind out of Services sails and with their scrum and lineout and in the ascendency Tavistock finished the game the stronger and were perhaps unlucky not to add further to their score.