Match Preview

Saints return to Tregorrick determined to find that elusive first win of 2017 following their 22-13 defeat at Wadebridge Camels last weekend. Once again Saints were well in contention going in 3 - 7 ahead at halftime. A red card issued just after the break meant that most of the second half was played with 14 men. While Camels had forced their way into a 10-7 lead just before this , there can be no doubt that this had a large bearing on the Saints ability to come back.

This is the 3rd time that Saints have played against Bude this season having won the 2 previous meetings. A close run 7 - 12 away win was followed up by a 48-0 cup win at Tregorrick to see the Saints through to another Cup semi-final.

Neither game was easy and Bude have always proved doughty opponents. They showed their pluck by ending a run of 3 successive defeats with an unexpected but well deserved 12 - 8 victory at home to 8th placed Sidmouth and will hope that this will signal a change in their fortunes.

Bude themselves have yet to win away from home this season losing all 7 of their games on the road. While the Saints have struggled to put a string of wins together, despite being in contention in virtually every game this season. Once again this should be a good game with Bude set to build on their last winning result while the Saints are desperate to get their first win in 2017.

Another fascinating Saturday at Tregorrick Park in prospect. We would also like to welcome Plumbase who are joining us for a corporate day. We hope you enjoy your time with us and look upon St Austell Rugby Club as a great place to host your guests now and in the future.

Finally a quick word about the change to the way in which high tackles are now handled. There is a lot of discussion among former players and the TV pundits about this and whether it is making the game soft or whether it will cause more injuries.

Let me say that I believe the change has been made with best intentions in mind and player welfare clearly at the forefront. Any initiative that does this should be applauded.

For those who think this makes the game softer than it was, I can assure them that the power and number of tackles that the modern player puts in is far greater than when I played. Standing as close to the action as I do at training and on match days I can vouch for this without hesitation.

It is, for me, probably the biggest change in rugby. In older days you would get the odd big hit in a game but nowadays players hit harder for longer and there are significant tackles in every game. Undoubtedly those who played previously would have adapted and been successful but rugby like everything has moved on and, in my view something had to be done. Players were becoming too reckless in the way in which they tried to dislodge the ball and in my view targetting the ball always had associated risks.

The new interpretation has been introduced to prevent "reckless" contact with the head, putting the onus clearly on the tackler to be careful in the way in which they made a tackle. You also see this approach to player protection applied to the outlawed neckroll at the ruck and maul, while the scrum hit and engage of a few seasons ago has also now been consigned to history in the interests of safety.

In my view all of this is implemented to prevent player injury , and while there will undoubtedly be a few mistakes in its implementation this is a price worth paying and as always we will adapt and continue to to safeguard our young men and women as they play our fantastic game.

Steve Murley