May 18, 2008
Devon will make their fifth successive Twickenham final appearance when they face Yorkshire in the final of the Bill Beaumont Cup on June 1.
The County Championship holders came from behind to beat Gloucestershire 10-7 at the Brickfields in Plymouth while Yorkshire overhauled Lancashire on points difference after a 40-22 win in the Roses clash at Harrogate.
Bill Beaumont Cup holders Devon will return to Twickenham to continue their defence of the trophy after beating Gloucestershire 10-7 at Plymouth Albion.
Yorkshire needed to beat Lancashire for the first time in four meetings by more than five points to qualify and did so in style.
Otley winger Robin Kitching played a pivotal role with a try, four penalties and three conversions, and Richard Wainwright, Steve Parsons, David McCormack and Dan Hyde added the other tries.
Yorkshire manager Graham Siswick said: "We had a lot of good passages of play between the backs and the forwards, and our lineout was very strong. When Lancashire did score it was mostly against the run of play, and we feel we could have won by more. We’re looking forward to the final now."
Devon were stunned by an early try from Gloucestershire number eight Mike Panaho and trailed 7-5 in the second half despite Kyle Marriott's reply.
But former England Under 19 centre Tom Bedford sealed victory when he caught Dan Hawke's crosskick and scored.
Warwickshire secured their place in the top-flight next season with a comfortable 31-8 win against Cheshire, who are relegated after losing all three games.
Cornwall are marching on Twickenham again after a 43-0 win over Eastern Counties ensured they reached the final of the County Championship Shield.
Paul Thirlby scored two tries, Matt Jess, Sam Hocking, Ben Hilton and Lewis Vinnicombe one each. Mark Scrivener kicked five conversions and a penalty.
They meet Northumberland in the Shield final following their 29-5 win over North Midlands at Tynedale.
Durham were relegated from the Shield after 21-20 defeat against Cumbria at Darlington and Oxfordshire go down too following their 42-3 defeat at Hertfordshire.
Hampshire, who have yet to concede a point in four outings this season, cruised into the Plate semi-final by beating Kent heavily at Basingstoke.
Bill Beaumont Cup (North): Lancashire 22 Yorkshire 40, Warwickshire 31 Cheshire 8
Bill Beaumont Cup (South): Devon 10 Gloucestershire 7, Somerset 37 Middlesex 17
County Championship Shield (North): Northumberland 29 North Midlands 5, Durham 20 Cumbria 21
County Championship Shield South: Cornwall 43 Eastern Counties 0, Hertfordshire 42 Oxfordshire 3
County Championship Plate Semi-Finals: Hampshire 37 Kent 0, Leicestershire 31 East Midlands 8
Fixtures:
May 24: County Championship Plate final: Hampshire v Leicestershire (Aldershot).
June 1: County Championship Shield final: Northumberland v Cornwall (Twickenham, 10am)
June 1: Bill Beaumont Cup final: Devon v Yorkshire (Twickenham, 12pm)
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