North Bristol RFC coach Max Sheppard hailed ‘a brilliant day for the whole club’ as they capped an unbeaten season in style by lifting silverware at Twickenham.
Tries from Jack Cotter, Anthony Jelf and a double from flanker Max Fox-Holmes earned a hard-fought 31-24 victory over Westcountry rivals Gloucester Old Boys in the Papa Johns Men’s Community Cup Counties 3 and Below final.
Gloucester had taken the lead in the second half but despite scores from Spencer Miller, Aled Halford-Tuffley and 12 points from Taylor Unett, North Bristol held on to the delight of their sizeable travelling faithful.
“I stopped playing about five years ago and never got anywhere close to this,” assistant coach Sheppard said.
“To coach a team here and lift a cup is fantastic. We brought seven coaches from Bristol and it has been a brilliant day for the club.
“Credit to Gloucester OBs, we knew what they were about – big pack, strong lineout, scrum dominance.
“They came to play, and all credit to them, but our lads really stuck at it. There was a tricky period of 30-40 minutes where they threw everything at us and we held them out.
“In the second half, we regrouped and went again. We played the rugby we wanted to play, not the rugby they wanted to play.”
Over 500 clubs entered 29 Papa Johns Community Cup competitions across the women’s and men’s game in the inaugural season of a tournament set up following player feedback indicating a preference to condense the league season and create a cup competition after the regular league season had ended.
Many clubs were able to play different opposition and visit new places while others reignited old local rivalries, while winning teams will be entered in a prize to win a visit from a Red Roses’ coach and a free Papa Johns pizza order.
“We have really embraced the competition and we’ve had some brilliant away trips,” Sheppard added.
“The boys have committed to wanting to win this cup and the reason we are here is not by luck.
“Just after Covid we had six or seven at training, this week we had 40. That buy-in from the players has allowed us to get to where we want to be and it just shows that if you commit to this project, this is where you can get to.
“We are a small club in Bristol and it’s not just about the 23 lads who played in the final, it’s about their parents, wives, girlfriends, everyone who is part of the journey.
“These moments don’t come around too often and we need to embrace it.”
For a round-up of Papa Johns Community Cup Final action and to watch the games back follow @RFU Twitter and #PapaJohnsCommunityCup
