A week is a long time in rugby and after a welcome one week break the Saints will be champing at the bit to take on Crediton RFC at Tregorrick Park with a new man at the helm.

With Andy Ashwin stepping down as Director of Rugby for personal reasons, the Saints will be eager to ensure that Steve Murley’s second spell as DoR gets off to a winning start in front of a home crowd.

The Devon side travel to Cornwall in a poor vein of form that has seen them drop to the bottom of the Western Counties West League. The Saints though will be not take them lightly, a quick look at the form book shows that the visitors’ last two victories were against Cornish opposition with impressive wins’ overs St Ives (17-13) and Wadebridge Camels (29-13). Crediton have also had the upper hand over the Saints since rivalries between the two sides were resumed last season after relegation and promotion had kept them apart for several years with the Devonians grabbing two single point victories and a draw. The Saints will feel they have a point to prove because on all three occasions we had enough possession and territory to win the games. Crediton have proved well organised and committed opponents, with a strong set of forwards more than capable of dominating first phase ball to disrupt any opposition game plan. There is no doubt that the Saints’ pack will have their work cut out to secure the quality ball our back line craves.

It has been a frustrating 2017 for the Saints so far with three defeats out of four Cornish derbies during January and with games against the top three sides looming on the horizon, it has really raised the ante on Saturday’s clash with Crediton. The Saints will be looking for a win that will help maintain the blue water that has been established with the bottom five.
The Saints will be boosted by the return of George Knowles and Liam Freeman who were unavailable for the trip to St Ives and the pair will be pushing for a starting berth in Steve Murley’s first selection as DoR.

Also vying for selection will be some of the six youngsters who started for Cornwall U20s in an impressive 64-3 win for the Black and Gold over Berkshire last weekend. While Cornwall skipper Will Gilder has returned to Gloucester University, certainly Max Duggan, CJ Boyce, Cavan Boyer, Toby Robinson and Lewis Lee will be keen to impress in training to force their way into Steve’s plans.

This really is a fantastic achievement for St Austell RFC and the six young players have done their Club proud. However, now the hard work really starts and they will need to compete with some well-established senior players to secure a regular starting place for the Saints and Sinners. It is a challenge I am sure they will relish as they continue their development and maintain the momentum with the chance to win a place in the senior Cornwall squad.

Whatever XV is selected for Saturday it is sure to be an exciting game so make sure you get down to Tregorrick to witness the start of the second Murley era. There are still some seats available for the pre-match lunch and don’t forget the game is followed by Wales v England on the big screens in the main and lounge bars (KO 16:50).

COYS!
Paul Hayes
Chairman