Devon need some help from the most unlikely of sources to keep their Bill Beaumont Cup hopes alive after a 23-9 home defeat to Gloucestershire.

Graham Dawe's side did push the visitors closer than the score-line suggests. But two tries late in the second half from Tom Jarvis and Dan Hodge, in addition to a first-half score by Jack Preece, gave Gloucestershire a handsome win.

Devon could only reply with three penalties from fly-half Dan Mugford, and now Gloucestershire head to Redruth to play Cornwall next week firmly in control of Division One South of the County Championship.

If Cornwall do Devon a big favour and Dawe's men rack up a big score against Hertfordshire, there is still a chance.

However, Dawe himself says his team will just aim to win their final group phase game and hope the rest takes care of itself. He will certainly not dwell on the fact that their one and only home match this year has ended in defeat.

He said: "It would have been frustrating even if we were playing it in Iceland, wouldn't it? Not just necessarily here. But it will be difficult for us now, Gloucestershire are on a roll, although it's not an easy game for them.

"We don't want to focus on getting to the final now, we want to concentrate on winning the final game – that's all we can do. The points they scored at the end of the game have certainly kicked us in the teeth."

After an early Chris Ashwin penalty put the visitors in front, Devon responded well through the first of Mugford's three penalties.

However, Gloucestershire's pack power soon put Devon under pressure and Preece darted off the back of one catch and drive to give his side an 8-3 half-time lead.

The hosts started the second half well, aided briefly by Gloucestershire lock Royce Cadman's untimely trip to the sin-bin.

Two more Mugford penalties gave Devon a slender lead, but once Cadman returned it was the visitors' turn to apply the pressure. As their pack rolled toward a second try, Tom Bedford was picked out by referee Keith Lewis, for his part in illegally bringing their progress to a halt.

Replacement fly-half Tim Stevenson took full advantage, slotting a penalty to put Gloucestershire back in front before providing a telling chip over the Devon defence to set up Jarvis in the left corner.

He converted and the final score went to lock Hodge, crashing over, near the same touchline.

Dawe said: "We enjoyed a relatively good start but we missed a few opportunities right at the end of the first half. Even leading up to the last 15 minutes of the first half, we had field position with the wind but we didn't capitalise and make our scores.

"That has come back to bite us against a team that were reasonably strong in the tackle and really competitive around the rucks. They played just as we expected them to, but we didn't get our drive game going one bit.

"We got the lead but we didn't kick on and control the game. Young Dan at fly-half, it was a big ask for him to come in and play against the wind with his tactical game and we just lacked control when trying to find our way up the field.

"But, fair play to him, he struck the ball well for his penalties and he got us the lead. I thought all the young guys did really, really well. It was a good effort from the boys, they worked really hard and sometimes it is just the way things go.

"There will be a couple of people unavailable next week, we'll have to live with that, but we'll certainly take a competitive squad to Hertfordshire. We'll try and win the game and end the season on a high."

Devon: D Force (Teignmouth); S Johns (Plymouth Albion), K Fisilau (Albion), T Bedford (Exeter Chiefs), R Bright (Cornish Pirates); D Mugford (Ivybridge), E Lewsey (Albion); B Moon (Chiefs), R Freestone (Albion), S Kingsland (Chiefs); D MacDonald (Albion), T Skelding (Albion, capt); D Collier (Albion), J Fleming (Exeter), D Ewers (Chiefs). Replacements (used): R Bolt (Chiefs), G Dawe (Albion), G Evans (Albion), T Freeman (Chiefs), W Reed (Crediton), P Sykes (Cambridge), R Watts-Jones (Albion).

Scorers: Penalties – Mugford (3).

Yellow card: Bedford.

Gloucestershire: M Knight (Lydney); C Holder (Lydney), T Jarvis (Florence, Italy), D Scourfield (Cinderford), N Codin (Cinderford); C Ashwin (Bristol), J Williams (Birmingham & Solihull); M Long (B&S), P Finken (Newbury), C Meddick (Dings Crusaders); D Hodge (Newbury), R Cadman (Hartpury College); D Williams (Gloucester), J Preece (B&S), G Curry (Dings). Replacements (used): P Jarvis (Hartpury), T Stevenson (Cinderford), S Plummer (Dings), T Brocket (Dings), S Wilkes (Clifton), E King (Cinderford), M Brown (Cinderford).

Scorers: Tries – Preece, T Jarvis, Hodge; Conversion – Stevenson; Penalties – Ashwin, Stevenson.

Yellow card: Cadman.

Referee: K Lewis.