After the most successful season in the Club’s history, Kyle Marriott has decided the time is right to bow out as St Austell RFC Head Coach after five seasons at the helm. With wedding bells ringing in the summer, Kyle will be able to dedicate more time to his young family and his increasing work commitments. His Tregorrick tenure has been hugely successful, the Saints finished 4th in the Western Counties West during Kyle’s first season in 2018-19 but the signs were clear that something was building. A young team flourished under his coaching, playing an exciting brand of attacking rugby, promotion to South West 1 West was achieved the following season.

The Saints return to Level Six was delayed for 12 months with the 2020-21 season lost to the COVID pandemic. During that dark period Kyle showed incredible leadership to keep the players engaged and training whenever the restrictions and guidance allowed. When rugby resumed, the Saints made a shaky start to the 2021-22 season with an opening day defeat at Devonport Services. The bounce back was incredible with Saints going on a seven-match unbeaten run that placed them among the front runners in the promotion race. An exciting campaign ended in disappointment missing out on promotion by a single try on the final day, a week later the Saints lost to Launceston in the County Cup Final.

Lessons were learnt, experience was gained, and Kyle steered the Saints to the top of the Regional 2 SW this season. Promotion takes the Club to Level Five, the highest St Austell RFC has ever reached in the RFU League structure. The Saints reached the semi-final of the Papa Johns Community Cup and were just two points away from a Twickenham Final. The Saints have also made it to the Final of the County Cup, which should have provided the perfect occasion to bring the curtain down on Kyle’s reign as Head Coach. Unfortunately, with the County Championship in full flow and Truro apparently unable to play a midweek fixture, it has not been possible to agree a date in May and the Final will now be played on 26th August.

Kyle of course also played, and the former Cornish Pirates and Redruth number eight racked up 89 appearances for the Saints scoring 26 tries along the way. The Tregorrick faithful will be delighted to hear that Kyle will continue to turn out for the Club in our Diamond Jubilee season.

Forwards Coach Miles Davey is also stepping down, with a second child on the way Miles felt the time was right to move aside from the off-field demands that the role requires. A former Youth player, Miles returned to St Austell RFC for the 2013-14 season going on to make 221 appearances to date. Appointed Captain for the 2015-16 season, he served with distinction until Mark Vian took over at the beginning of this season. He became the first St Austell RFC Captain to lift the Cornwall County Cup in 2017 and was perhaps unfortunate not to repeat that feat in 2022. Miles joined Kyle’s coaching team helping to develop the young talent coming through the Club’s ranks. A natural leader and organiser, Miles has done an incredible job to instil pride in the “shirt” and ensuring every player knows what it means to be part of the Saints Family. He was a driving force behind re-establishing the Spartans and bringing back third team rugby to Tregorrick after a 20-year absence.

Reflecting on his time with the Saints, Miles said "It's been one hell of a journey since rejoining my hometown club back in 2013, thanks to a couple of St Austell legends James Earp and my 1st player sponsor Guppy. Over the last 10 years, there have been many highs and lows, but one thing that has always stayed constant was the ambition of the club to always push forward on and off the field.

I've always believed in the saying 'Leave the shirt/club in a better place than you started with'. With this in mind, I've had a number of roles, initially just a player which only lasted a year before becoming captain and club captain for the next 8 seasons, then joining the Coaching team in 2018 alongside Kyle, and more recently doing the clubs social media. But with the family set to grow in September with the arrival of our baby boy, my time and priorities needed to shift to able to support Krissy, Hallie and our new arrival. However, I won't be stepping away completely and will want to continue to play when I can and where ever I'm selected, be it Saints, Sinners or Spartans.

I love this club, and I can't wait for my kids to get stuck in when they are old enough. Finally, I'd like to publicly thank a few people. Paul and Steve, you are both incredible servants to the club and we are lucky to have you. Kyle thank you for taking the club to the next level, it's been a pleasure brother. And to my fantastic family for all the support, Mum and Dad coming to every game has always meant a lot and Krissy for always making it possible for be to play by looking after our Hallie. Saints Family"

Like Kyle, Miles will still be playing next season bringing his competitive and combative style to training and playing that will continue to push everyone to continue improve.

St Austell RFC Chair Paul Hayes said “It has been an absolute pleasure to work alongside Kyle and Miles. They set incredibly high standards for training and preparation and provided the leadership, example and motivation to inspire everyone to excel on and off the field. With 40-50 players attending training, it is testimony to the innovative and challenging sessions put on by the coaches every Tuesday and Thursday. They have developed an exciting attacking style of play that has been adopted by the Saints, Sinners and Spartans and taken us all on an incredible journey which culminated in 2022-23 being the most successful season in the Club’s history with the Saints being crowned Regional 2 SW Champions and reaching the semi-final of the Papa Johns Community Cup and still in with the chance of winning the Cornwall Cup. The Sinners finished 4th in the Counties 2 Cornwall and won the Senior Duchy Cup Winners while the Spartans played 27 games, winning 19 of them and brought home the Duchy Cup.

On behalf of everyone at Tregorrick, I want to thank Kyle and Miles for their hard work and dedication, their inspirational leadership and their commitment to St Austell RFC and community rugby. I am delighted that they will still be playing as they are both wonderful players who will help us adjust to the rigours of Level Five rugby. We had hoped to commemorate the end of the Marriott / Davey era with a Cup Final, but with the County Cup Final delayed until to August that is not to be. Instead we will celebrate at the Senior Awards Night on Friday 26th May, it is sure to be a party to remember.

They have laid some fantastic foundations upon which the Club can continue to grow and develop, and we will be announcing the new coaching structure in the coming weeks.”