Tonbridge Juddians’ Evans kicks 24 points as Kent complete historic ‘three-peat’
Kent secured a historic three-peat as they clinched the Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 title following a 39-32 win over Yorkshire at Twickenham. (Photo Credit: Peta Nash)
It was a lightning start from Yorkshire as a blistering move was rounded off by Hull Ionians’ George Mewburn before Luke Boon (Tonbridge Juddians) responded for the holders.
Mewburn rumbled over again, with Kent replying via the eye-catching Mac Duaibe before the boots of the impressive Sam Evans and Lewis Minikin came into play.
Before the break, Evans landed three penalties to Minikin’s one, and the pair swapped kicks again shortly after half-time.
A yellow card for Yorkshire for a head-on-head tackle then allowed Kent to take control of the final as Westcombe Park’s Mikel Davies continued his excellent County Championship campaign by darting over on 50 minutes.
Evans’ assured afternoon from the tee saw him accumulate 24 points in total as he added two further penalties to cap a famous day for Kent, while late tries from Eddie Crossland (Leeds Tykes) and Will Smith (Sheffield) were merely consolations for the white rose.
Before their 2023 triumph over Lancashire, Kent hadn’t been to a Division 1 final since 1986 but over the last three seasons, Taff Gwilliam and Tom Stradwick’s side have made visiting England HQ the norm.
And on each occasion, they have tasted success.
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For Stradwick, lifting the title again alongside captain Raffa Dutta – who was excellent in the second period – was the perfect way to end his playing career, but it was Yorkshire who seized the early initiative thanks to a stunning opening score.
A break-out from deep from Rotherham’s Jack Townend released winger James Norman (Sheffield Tigers) before Minikin produced a deft kick which was lapped up by a gleeful Mewburn.
Kent produced a swift response, with Boon adding the finishing gloss to an untidy line-out before Mewburn profited from an unstoppable driving maul as a concerted surge led to his second on 14 minutes.
The holders then levelled the scores with the physical Duaibe taking a direct route to the try-line – following a well-timed pass from Evans – as the pace of the game bore little resemblance to the stuffy and challenging weather conditions in the capital.
Kent then took hold of proceedings with Evans knocking over two penalties and while Minikin kept Yorkshire in touch from the tee, a dominant scrum bang in front of the posts allowed the Tonbridge Juddians No.10 to add to his tally for a 23-17 interval lead.
Both kickers continued to trade blows after the restart, but a yellow card for Yorkshire’s replacement prop Chris Moore saw Kent take advantage.
After collecting an offload from Ben Charnock (Blackheath) – who was part of an industrious Kent back-row – pacey scrum-half Davies scooted over. Man of the match Evans continued to keep his cool in the sweltering heat as he nudged over two further penalties, which ultimately completed the job for Kent, who never looked flustered in the second period.
The humid evening had an impact on the flow of the game as both attacks misfired on a few occasions, but Yorkshire were able to recapture their early cohesion when new Leeds Tykes fly-half Eddie Crossland and Sheffield centre Will Smith went over, but in the end, it was too little, too late.
Line-ups
Kent: Bryan Hotston (Dorking); Tom Kendrick (Tonbridge Juddians), Luke Tabolt (Tonbridge Juddians), Shaydn Osgood (Tonbridge Juddians), Garry Jones (Canterbury); Sam Evans (Tonbridge Juddians), Mikel Davies (Westcombe Park); Luke Boon (Tonbridge Juddians), Eoin O’Donoghue (Canterbury), Bobby Bratton (Tonbridge Juddians); Charlie Self (Tonbridge Juddians), Tom Stradwick (Blackheath); Rafa Dutta (Westcombe Park), Vince Everitt (Tonbridge Juddians), Ben Charnock (Blackheath).
Replacements: Taine Wagstaff (Westcombe Park), Marc Muhlemann (Westcombe Park), Conor Ganley (Esher), Mac Duaibe (Tonbridge Juddians), Isaac Ridge (Tonbridge Juddians), Ben Fryatt (Westcombe Park), Tom Williams (Canterbury), Sam Begbie (Sevenoaks).
Yorkshire: Jack Townend (Rotherham); Chris Hooper (Sheffield), Lewis Minikin (Hull Ionians), Oli Cicognini (Wharfedale), James Norman (Sheffield Tigers); Eddie Crossland (Leeds Tykes), Elliot Fisher (Sheffield); Loma Kivalu (Rotherham), Rhodri Campbell (Sheffield), Rikki Stout (Rotherham); Joe Makin (Hull Ionians), Dom Parsons (Sheffield); Archie Crapper (Sheffield), Felix Crapper (Sheffield), George Mewburn (Hull Ionians).
Replacements: Will Archer (Sheffield), Chris Moore (Heath), Will Scholey (York), Martin Dodds (Harrogate), Zak Poole (Sheffield), Harvey Harding (Hull), Will Smith (Sheffield), Kristian Dobson (Harrogate).
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