Devonish led by example for the British men

There were also second-place finishes for Phillips Idowu, Michael Rimmer and Andy Turner as the team narrowly failed to overhaul Poland for third place.

The GB women's team won 12 of 20 events in Finland to secure a return to the top flight of European athletics.

Jo Pavey, Joice Maduaka and Abby Westley were all in excellent form.

606: DEBATE Your thoughts on the European Cup action

Britain's men never had realistic hopes of catching eventual winners France, but they entered the second day with designs on moving into the top three.

For much of the day that looked a realistic goal as the team wracked up a series of podium finishes.

Michael Rimmer finished strongly to take an excellent second place in the 800m.

Andy Turner also grabbed seven points with a second-placed finish in the 110m hurdles, clocking a time of 13.48 seconds, while Frenchman Ladji Doucoure won in a season's best 13.35.

In the pole vault, Steven Lewis finished a creditable sixth with a season's best height of 5.40m, a mark he made at the second attempt.

But there was slight disappointment as Phillips Idowu could only manage second in the triple jump.

The passion is there now and that's the absolute essential UK athletics performance director Dave Collins

Idowu was a strong favourite prior to the event having won in Oslo, but was unable to recreate that form before a final-round 17.21m saved his blushes.

Prior to that jump, he had been languishing in fourth, but could not overhaul eventual winner Aleksandr Petrenko who managed a wind-assisted 17.29m.

Devonish lived up to his billing to win a tight 200m.

The 31-year-old was clearly ahead after 50 metres and looked set for a comfortable victory, but appeared to ease off and was almost caught on the line by fast-finishing Frenchman David Alert.

Devonish's win gave the team real hope of catching the Poles, but Nick Nieland, seemingly nursing a tweaked shoulder, could only manage sixth in the javelin and Nick McCormick lost two places on the line to finish fourth in the 3000m.

That left the team needing to win the 4x400m and hope the Poles finished last.

With a strong team, the Poles were, in truth, never candidates to trail the field home. However, Britain did at least appear set for a final event victory until Daniel Caines grabbed defeat from the jaws of victory on the line.

However, UK athletics performance director Dave Collins was delighted with the overall performance.

"The team performance is just what we wanted," he said. "The passion is there now and that's the absolute essential. I'm proud of them."

Britain's women, looking for promotion back to the top flight, produced a series of strong performances as they extended their lead from day one.

Joice Maduaka followed her second in the 100m with victory in the 200m, while student Abby Westley picked up the full eight points in the 1500m.

And Jo Pavey was far too good for the field in the 5000m as the team built an unassailable lead.