Steve Hewson is probably not known to many of today’s club members, but he played a vital role in bringing the youth players down to Devonport Services, as well as being a really good coach.

It was Steve, Ian Rawlings, Graham Emond, Nigel Chivell, myself and a few others who made the decision to move all the youth to Services after a severe falling out with the senior committee at Plymouth Albion in 1994.

He was the main person who had to have all the facts and figures on hand to persuade the club and the MOD to make the club partially open and allow the youth in.
Fortunately, MOD agreed to a trial year, through his hard work as secretary, and our other volunteers, the trial year was a success and the powers to be accepted us.
Once we were given the nod, Steve and others had to work really hard to get everything up and running inside a couple of months, we had to organise new kit, jumpers, ties, inform all the players, coaches and parents then the clubs on our fixtures list of the change of name and venue, all this before the days of mobile phones, email and text messaging.
In the next eight years, he coached various age groups, ending with the U15s.
At the start of the 1998/1999 season, he played in the club’s cricket team when they won the plate final in the St Lukes Hospice league.
Then he took on the Colts, and here was his greatest achievement.

In 2004, with Bob Steere and Phil Arscott, father of Tom and Luke, to help him, they had entered the National Colts cup. After a couple of rounds, they lost and dropped into the Plate competition.
Then, after a lot of travelling to other clubs, one in particular, a very welcoming Bromley, it is worth listing the representative players in their team to see what our team was up against: twelve county players, four London and South East players, two England schools players, two from Saracens' academy and one from Harlequins' academy.
So to beat that team 20~25 and in front of their many supporters who, I am sure, were supremely confident they would win, was a major triumph for Steve and the team.
Finally, they faced Widnes away in the semi-final after a long six-hour coach trip north.
On a blustery and overcast day, we slowly pulled ahead by halftime, and by full time, I think the final score stood at 3~15. They were through to the National Colts plate final in Northampton.

Quite a few supporters went up, including Ivor White and Mick Edwards.
We were playing London Scottish. I think they had themselves as gold-plated winners, and most of the crowd did as well.

By half time, Scottish were 7~3 up, we had a Matt Anstis penalty to our name, and we were struggling to get off the coach. After the break, they pulled away to 14~3, and a second Matt Anstis penalty got us to 14~6.
Then we scored the best try of the game.
Starting with Tom Arscott on our twenty-two, the ball went through the hands of Jason Stead, Will Brown then to Peter Evans, who scored, with Matt Anstis’s conversion, we went to one point behind at 14~13.
Into injury time and with our pack in charge, the ball came back to Matt Anstis just inside their half, the World Cup moment of Jonny Wilkinson had arrived, with an amazing drop kick that the Northampton first team would have been proud of, he put it over the crossbar to take the lead at 14~16. They had won. London Scottish could not believe it.

The story has gone on rather, but it was good to relive the greatest moment of Steve’s rugby career. A modest man who would have broadly smiled at the end and stood back as they lifted the cup.
A proud moment for him, the team and the club
But that was not the end, they went on to beat Barnstaple on The Rectory in the Devon Colts Cup final.

The following season, he took the colts to the Devon Colts cup final again, this time beating Newton Abbot.
After this, he went on to coach the first team for the seasons 05/06, at the end of which we were promoted to Western Counties, and 06/07 when we ended 5th in the league.

We can see from all that, if I have my facts right, Steve just quietly got on with it and did a great deal for this club both as a secretary and coach.
He must, in recent times, be one of the best all-round coaches we have had.

Our condolences go to his wife, Margaret and their children, Martin and Kerry, and to his wider family.
Thanks, Steve.

Mike Yeats