Oh but it gets exciting when your team takes down the unbeaten league leaders! The toughest hurdle on paper has been leapt over in a magnificent effort by the Saints on Sidmouth turf in front of a sizeable and expectant home crowd and a vocal St Austell minority. It is a great start to the New Year and it just makes life more interesting as we look up the M5 at Winscombe this Saturday.

We last saw Winscombe at Tregorrick on 22nd September and it was a solid 31-3 win for the Saints. If you remember Winscombe have been put into the unenviable position of being moved across to WCW due to a numbers issue so now they have a bundle of really long away trips to Cornish teams and I know from chatting to them beforehand that they aren’t overly happy with the situation. So lets say they weren’t in the best frame of mind on the away fixture but they will certainly be feeling happier about playing at the Recreation Ground.

Does that assumption stack up from what they have been up to?

Like Sidmouth and a few others they are a game behind the Saints due to postponements. To date they have played 14, won 5 and lost 9 and they are sweating it out in 10th place 6 points ahead of the relegation zone with plenty of games still to play. They had an abysmal start to the season only winning one game out of seven in September and October. One win of note was against Kingsbridge who narrowly did for the Saints in December beating them 21-13 at theirs. They did themselves a huge favour by beating fellow strugglers Saltash last week 24-21. They dominated much of the first period and start to the second, territorially owning Saltash’s twenty-two. Saltash managed to tactically kick themselves into better positions bringing the score back to 21-21 before Winscombe nicked it with the last kick of the game which was a penalty. Exciting stuff and they will have taken some heart from the win.

Saints as previously alluded to had a decent run out last Saturday. I have to say they looked sharp in training on the Thursday (all of which is being helped by enduringly dry conditions of late) which for the first one back after the Xmas feasting season is hugely commendable! Prior to Sidmouth they entertained Saltash on the 15th December where points flowed freely. Saints style of game whilst being tailored in training sessions to try and counter the predicted threats each week does seem to be more expansive this season, using more of the pitch and being more entertaining because of it!

Kyle Marriott’s post-Tuesday training thoughts: Part one of what is a difficult January for us is complete after a tough encounter away to Sidmouth. This weekend we make our longest trip of the year to Winscombe. Much of the training this week has been based around our accuracy and ball retention. The weather seems to continue to improve with rain holding off at the moment and we hope to continue to play some entertaining rugby. Winscombe will be a tough opponent with much of their focus being on winning games at home and we go there wary of the quality they have. A coach trip for the players loaded with some extra support will hopefully see us through. COYS!!

The coach for the Winscombe trip still has seats available on it. It’s a 49-seater so won’t be cramped and it will be a good day out. Al Cummins is coordinating seat reservations for the travelling support and he is contactable on 07902216417 or alancummins@live.co.uk. Be great to fill up every seat and make some Cornish noise at the Rec.

Sinners were to welcome Bude to Tregorrick this Saturday but like many in their 'league' they are happy to receive us at theirs but unwilling to travel to us so they are now cancelled. Colts are away to Penzance at the Mennaye in what promises to be an absolute belter of a fixture with another 2.30pm KO.

Yours in Rugby

Ian Grantham

Parish Notices

Friday 1st Feb – Live music event at Tregorrick. ‘One for the Road’ will be playing in the clubhouse with doors open from 7pm. Tickets available from the Sunday morning food Hatch from Jen-Bob Sponge-Pants or from the bar for just £2. They will also be available on the door but please try and buy in advance if you can! Proceeds of ticket sales going to the #SaintsFamily Rugby Fund.

Tregorrick Park has again been selected to host two County U20 fixtures. On Sunday 3rd Feb we welcome Devon and on 17th March we welcome Gloucestershire. Both are currently citing a 1pm KO. Everyone is welcome to come up and cheer on the future of Cornish rugby!

100 club –You can still join…Your number will be assigned in the next month’s draw. Feeding funds into purely rugby activities is central to our strategy to grow the whole club, providing help to the people who volunteer at Tregorrick to get qualified and to buy equipment when needed. If we don’t invest in ourselves we won’t progress! The fund that we are placing the money in is explained HERE. The form that you can print off to join is HERE. Please get behind this…3 cash prizes a month and it needs your support!

RFU Grand Draw – Paul Gilder is coordinating efforts with Clair Grantham dealing specifically with Youth, Rhian Roberts with Supporters and Neil Grigg for Senior players. More details HERE but in essence sell some tickets and we will be able to afford some nice new tables which helps us attract more function and events business. Now Christmas is over this is the time to turn our attention to this project...let’s get selling so we can reap the benefits!

Ale and Cider Fest 2019 – Friday 5th and Saturday 6th April. Get this in your diaries. An expanded event from previous years involving more live music and a broader range of drinks incl. Craft Gins and Proseccos’. Want to sponsor either the Friday night or Saturday afternoon and evening session? We are putting together a really good package for any business that wants to take a greater part in Ale and Cider Fest 19. Contact our Sponsorship manager Julie on juliewhite58@btopenworld.com. Want to sponsor a barrel? Get in touch with Darren at tregorrickpark@hotmail.co.uk to talk about how you can!

Pre-Match Lunches – HAVE TOTALLY SOLD OUT! If we get any cup home games (no luck so far this season but we live in hope) then we will quickly run a list to see who wants to come and if sufficient support is available we will run a lunch. Aside from that for the sold out lunches we are running a reserve list. We always seem to get a few drop outs closer to the time at this time of the year due to illness etc so get your name down with Tich today. He’s available on sardineslayer@hotmail.co.uk. More details are HERE.