Coney Hill chose their first visit to the home of English rugby to produce one of the standout performances in their 79-year history.

They overcame Hucclecote 17-10 to win the RFU Community Cup Counties 3 Championship and spark joyful scenes at Twickenham on Saturday.

Tries by Finbar Baker and Macauley Jones, converted by Ryan Barnett and Will Pinnell, who also slotted a penalty, earned them victory against a side who had finished 50 points ahead of them on the way to winning this season’s Counties 3 Gloucestershire North title.

“I think our league position probably wasn’t a true reflection of what this squad is capable of achieving,” said director of rugby Barnett.

“But over the past month the cup run has galvanised everybody. The players have trained with real intensity and you could feel the confidence grow in the team.”

And all that hard work certainly paid off against Hucclecote.

“It has to be one of Coney Hill’s best ever defensive efforts,” continued Barnett.

“We defended like absolute lions, even down to the last few minutes when Hucclecote threw everything at us. It was an incredible performance.”

Barnett was pleased that centre Baker and second row Jones were the try-scorers.

“They are both out and out Coney Hill boys, they both played for the juniors,” he said.

“I’m really proud of all the lads, the heat was searing. It reached 26 degrees, it was really tough going.

“Scrum-half Joe Twomey was awesome, he was like a fourth back row, he tackled like a lion.

“I’m pleased for Gavin Tippins who got some game-time and even big Sid King who came on for the last five minutes at the age of 47 and made a crucial tackle to turn the ball over.

“He’s been at the club since he was 17 so for him to be getting a runout at Twickenham is fitting for somebody who is a genuine club legend.”

And Barnett was also grateful to the club’s many supporters who cheered their team on throughout the 80 minutes.

“We must have had the best part of 300 fans, it was a monumental effort,” he said. “They helped to galvanise us, they genuinely were out 16^th man.”

Coney Hill are former County Cup winners and not so long ago were also winning the North Gloucestershire Combination Senior Cup on a regular basis.

Barnett is hoping that Saturday’s showpiece cup final win can be a springboard as the club look to return to the levels of years gone by.

“I hope it puts Coney Hill back on the map when it comes to attracting players in the Gloucester area,” he said.

“The quality of the group is very, very good. We’re playing Level 9 but if the players give it everything they’ve got I think we can push ourselves back up to Level 7.

“Hopefully, the feeling the players got on Saturday means they will go after it again. If they do I think we can do some big things over the next couple of years.”

The club also have a good junior set-up which means the future is looking bright and Barnett is hoping those senior players of tomorrow will have been inspired by what the club have just achieved.

“National cup champions, a day out at Twickenham; it is a day many of our supporters will never ever forget,” said Barnett.

“It was a wonderful experience.”