Murley on Monday

What a Saturday !!!!

Before I write about the Saints I want to offer my sincere congratulations to Wadebridge. Their record in cup finals over the last few years has been very good and on Saturday they used all of that experience to record their win. I'm not a believer in luck and while we played well we just couldn't get the points to win the match. Well done to the Camels, worthy winners.

We had all been looking forward to Saturday's cup final for a while and there was a lot of planning to make it a success both on and off the pitch. The support and messages of good luck we have received from businesses within the town, the council, the media, other rugby clubs, within our own club and from our magnificent "Massive" was unexpected and very humbling. On behalf of everyone involved can I thank you, one and all, it was very much appreciated.

Off the pitch the involvement of the 1978 team at the pre-match brunch, and the way that lads from both eras mixed both before and after the match was more than we could have hoped for. I will always treasure the memory of a Penryn bar full of Saints of all ages singing their hearts out with fantastic renditions of "Sloop John B" and "Little Eyes" among others. What a magnificent night and a real advert for rugby.

On the field I cannot speak too highly of the 21 players and support staff. We knew that we had to produce our best display of the season to even stand a chance and I believe that I can say with some confidence that we delivered. As a team we have struggled to get our game together over the last few months but when the chips were down there were red and white heroes everywhere you looked.

I am sure I write for all at the club when I say that we are fantastically proud of the team, everyone in the club can hold their heads up.

That said we have now shown, again, just how good we can be and that our early season form was not just a one-off. With 2 games left to play, and the potential still for an additional promotion play-off game, we need to re-focus. We will be back on the training pitch on Tuesday with a few things to polish up from Saturday’s game.

So we need to make sure that we learn from Saturday’s game and use that experience both in how we approach games and in making sure that we are absolutely focussed on getting a win away against Exeter Saracens this coming Saturday.

Sarries are a good side and while league positions may have us going into the game as favourites, we know exactly how well a team regarded as underdogs can perform.

Yours in rugby