Smiths won their fourth trophy in three stunning seasons when they overcame Harrow 31-29 in a ding-dong cup final at Dings Crusaders.

They added the Papa John’s Community Cup Counties 2 South Plate to their ever expanding trophy haul and, as you’d expect, head coach Ben Parker was absolutely delighted.

“It was brilliant,” he told The Local Answer. “This was really big for us, we’re very, very proud of what we’ve achieved.”

They were made to work extremely hard by the north London side for their victory, however, with the lead changing hands on multiple occasions.

“It was very close,” continued Parker. “We didn’t play as well as we can but we’ve had a long season, it was all about winning rather than the performance.”

Centre Marcus Raymond claimed 21 of his side’s points – two tries, four conversions and a penalty – with Smiths’ other points coming from a penalty try and a touchdown by wing Duncan Spurrier.

And Spurrier was as important in defence as in attack.

“They had a scrum on their own line, it was the last play of the game,” explained Parker. “They broke up the field and it looked like they could score but Duncan tracked back almost the length of the pitch to make the tackle.

“It looked like we were going to win and then it looked like we were going to lose it.

“It was exciting for the crowd but I prefer it when it’s stress-free and we have an easier win!”

And Smiths have been winning plenty over the past few years.

They won the old Gloucestershire 1 North title in 2021/22 and followed that up by winning Counties 2 Gloucestershire North last season, a season that also saw them win the Cheltenham Combination Cup for the first time in their history.

They were runners-up in the Senior Cup this time around and finished third in Counties 2 Gloucestershire North and Parker continued: “We entered three competitions this season and finished first, second and third.

“Saturday was our third huge game in nine days after beating Bristol Saracens to reach the Papa John’s final and then playing Cheltenham Tigers in the Combination Cup final.”

The club’s success is testament to the work done by Parker and backs/attack coach Rob Nock – “He’s done a wonderful job, it’s 50/50 between us,” added Parker – and Parker is also keen to pay tribute to the contribution of captain Ben Hawker.

“He’s the driving force behind everything at Smiths,” Parker added. “He’s our number eight but he’ll also step in at hooker and in the centre.”

Hawker is just one of many key players at the club, of course.

“They’re a great bunch of lads,” said Parker, who confirmed that he'd love to continue at the club next season. “Smiths is a good place to be, it’s a really well-run club.”

Meanwhile, Cirencester were beaten 44-16 by Saracens Amateur in the Counties 2 South Shield final while Widden Old Boys lost 53-14 to Worth Old Boys in the Counties 3 & Below South Plate final.