It was all square on the scoreboard at Maidstone RFC at full time but Wanderers had won the cliffhanger final of the Spitfire Gold Veterans Cup by scoring five tries to Sevenoaks’ four.
Wanderers took an early lead through an interception try from Pete Oliver who ran in from his own half and following a penalty from Sevenoaks went further ahead 12-3 with a try from Paul Moat. Sevenoaks hit back with two tries before half time to take the lead 17-12.
Wanderers played with the slope and breeze advantage in the second half but Oaks scored first with a converted try before a brace of tries from Dave Lemon and a second try for Moat put Wanderers ahead 31-24 with Gareth Redmond having converted three of his side’s tries.
Oaks bounced back once more in the dying minutes with a penalty try after a try stopping tackle by a Wanderer was judged to be high and illegal by referee Jez Michaels. The conversion levelled the scores at 31-31 and the final whisle blew. The competition rules indicated Wanderers had won the cup after a pulsating contest by virtue of scoring one more try than their opponents.
Captain Elliott Stokes collected the cup on behalf of the team together with some of the Sponsor’s beers to set the celebrations off. The final was a great advert for veterans (over 35’s) rugby and for Wanderers was some consolation for their defeat in the 2015 final.
Thanet Wanderers Veterans 31 – Sevenoaks Veterans 31