LOWESTOFT and Yarmouth's Twickenham dream ended in heartbreaking fashion this afternoon after they slipped to a 26-19 defeat.The loss was made even harder to take for the Gunton Park outfit who deserved better after they led 19-7 going into the second half.

LOWESTOFT and Yarmouth's Twickenham dream ended in heartbreaking fashion this afternoon after they slipped to a 26-19 defeat.

The loss was made even harder to take for the Gunton Park outfit who deserved better after they led 19-7 going into the second half.

But the tough Liskeard-Looe side battled back with typical Cornish grit to progress to the EDF Energy Junior Vase Final at the home of English rugby in May.

L&Y's unbeaten run may be over but after an amazing season they are still in pole position to triumph in the Eastern Counties League One whey they remain top of the table.

In football Lowestoft Town increased their lead at the top of the Ridgeon's Premier League with an emphatic 4-0 home victory over Mildenhall.

And with near neighbours and close rivals Kirkley & Pakefield losing 2-0 away at Stanway Rovers the lead has been stretched at the top of the table.

The rugby side's loss comes on the back of them having a fantastic season, with 14 wins out of 14 and 550 points scored to put them top of the table making them favourites for promotion.

In the vase they had knocked out Harwich & Dovercourt, Ely, Worth Old Boys, Wisbech and Harbury to earn their last-four tie away to Liskeard-Looe.

"We know that a cup run can be a one-season wonder," said Matt Jary, the L&Y first XV manager, ahead of today's clash. 'But all of a sudden it has captured the club's imagination. We won our league match last Saturday against Holt but we had trouble keeping our minds on the job. We're working hard on raising the profile of the club locally and getting the kids along to take part in rugby. The publicity from the EDF Energy Junior Vase run can only help."

For full reports and picture of all three matches see this week's Journal.