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Exeter dominate UTS Round 2
The University Touch Series headed to the University of Cardiff for the first time, and Exeter dominated to take home their first ever Cup title.
The group stages kicked off with some unexpected scores; hosts Cardiff falling 7-0 to Bath Hawks, Exeter Hurricanes beating Bristol 1 5-0, and Loughborough Wolves losing a tight game 3-1 to Exeter Monsoon.
The groups continued with intermittent scoring - some round seeing very close scores with1-2 scores in it (Exeter Typhoon 1-2 Southampton, Loughborough 2 0-1 Ex Storm, Bristol 2 2-1 Bath Panthers), followed by a big round of 6+ score differences (Bath 1 9-0 Exeter 3, Exeter Hurricanes 9-0 Loughborough 2, and Loughborough Wolves 7-1 Bristol 2).
This saw Bath Hawks end the group stages with the highest points for, 21 after 3 games, but Exeter Hurricanes topping them by one on points difference having not conceded a single score during the groups with a points difference of 20 after three games (Bath on +19 pd).
At the end of the group stages the top eight teams progressed to the Cup quarter finals, and the remaining four sides went directly into the Bowl semi-finals.
The Cup saw Exeter Hurricanes, Exeter Monsoon, Exeter Typhoon, and Bristol 1 go through to the Cup semis, with Southampton, Loughborough Wolves, Bristol 2, and Bath Hawks miss out and progress to the lower Plate semi. Big shocks coming with both Loughborough Wolves and Bath Hawks falling in the quarters set up a some very intriguing semi-finals!
The Bowl semi-final saw Loughborough 2 progress along with Bath Panthers to the Bowl final, with Exeter Storm and Cardiff missing out respectively. The Plate semis saw Southampton Stags beat Bristol 2, and Bath Hawks beat Loughborough Wolves in what previously have been a contender for the main Cup final event.
The Cup semis saw a dominant win for Exeter Hurricanes against their Exeter Typhoon, and a physical display from Bristol 1 saw them go through against Exeter Monsoon 4-2.
The Bowl final saw Bath Panthers beat Loughborough 2 4-3 in a great game, and the Plate Final saw Bath Hawks put on a dominant display against Southampton, winning 6-1.
The Cup final saw Exeter Hurricanes face off against Bristol 1. Exeter went 3 scores up in quick order, but Bristol fought back with touchdowns of their own. Exeter however turned the intensity on again in the second half and ran out eventual winners 10-3.
