A last-gasp interception try by Gavin Deane earned Widden Old Boys a thrilling 25-22 win over Gloucester Old Boys on Saturday.

It was table-topping Gloucester Old Boys’ first defeat in Counties 3 Gloucestershire North this season and the victory cemented Widden’s position in fourth spot.

And some victory it was too, against a side who went to The Memorial Ground with a perfect record of played 13, won 13, having scored 477 points in those 13 games.

“It was a massive result considering the run they’ve been on,” said 26-year-old full-back Deane, who is also the club’s head coach. “It was a game we were really targeting, we wanted to spoil their party.”

And Deane, who has been with Widden since the age of eight or nine, certainly played a full part, as he scored two tries and slotted two penalties and two conversions.

But it was that match-winning try that will live longest in the memories of Widden’s jubilant supporters.

“They were chasing a bonus-point try and they threw the ball wide,” recalled Deane. “I just popped up in the right place and then ran 45 to 50 metres to score, it was the final play of the game.”

So did he have any doubts that he would score?

“The legs were feeling it at that stage, the pitch was heavy,” he admitted. “I was worried about being caught but I was always confident I was going to finish even though I was being chased down.”

Deane actually missed the conversion but that certainly didn’t take any of the shine off what was a stunning performance, their eighth win in 13 league games.

“We had a gameplan and the boys stuck to it,” said Deane. “It was a real team effort.

“The atmosphere was amazing, hearing everyone erupting when I scored that try was special. It was a big moment for the club, we hadn’t beaten the Old Boys for a while.

“Games between us are always physical, it was a really good game.”

Deane actually had the chance to be the hero a minute of so earlier because Widden, who were trailing 22-20, were awarded a penalty.

“It was on the halfway line and the captain threw me the ball and asked me to have a go,” he explained. “Annoyingly, I hit the crossbar.”

That’s still a pretty good effort, of course, and his place-kicking throughout the game was all the more impressive because it’s not normally his role.

“Our regular kicker wasn’t able to play,” explained Deane. “I reckon it was the first time I’d kicked in a competitive game for about four years, I was quite nervous before the start.”

Those nerves disappeared quite early on however when he went over for his first try, scored in the corner from a scrum 10 metres out.

Right wing Akeem Richards got Widden’s other try, touching down after good work by replacement Tom Parry.

Widden have this weekend off before returning to league action at Chosen Hill 2nds on Saturday 27^th January and although they trail the leaders by 23 points with seven games to play, Deane says there is still plenty to play for.

“At the start of the season our aim was to win the league,” he said. “We want to finish as high as possible and put pressure on the teams above us.

“And we’ve still got the Papa John’s and the North Gloucestershire Combination Cup games at the end of the season.”