This was an absolute humdinger of a game that kept a large Tregorrick crowd enthralled from start to finish. Gloucestershire based sides have a proud tradition of tough uncompromising forwards and Berry Hill were no exception. Their aggressive and well drilled pack ensured an exciting contest in the tight exchanges with shuddering hits and crunching tackles as two totally committed sides fought for the right to progress one step nearer to a Twickenham appearance. The Saints had the edge in the first half but had plenty of work to ensure a Berry Hill revival in the second did not become a full blown comeback. In the end the Saints’ greater guile outside and superior fitness told and three tries in the last ten minutes added an extra gloss to the score line to ensure a memorable day for the home side.

The Saints started with real urgency as they looked to put the visitors under pressure from the off. Berry Hill defended stoutly as the hits came hard and fast as they sought to keep the Cornishmen out. The visitors were using any means possible to keep their line intact and six penalties in nine minutes meant that the referee’s patience was starting to strain as a final warning was issued. Two were in kicking range and scrum half Matt Shepherd ensured an early 6-0 lead for the hosts. The initial onslaught withered and Berry Hill started to move purposely up the pitch and soon had the home side pinned in the corner. The Saints’ defence was becoming increasingly desperate and a string of penalties led to an inevitable yellow card for Paul Winterbottom. Sensing blood the Berry Hill eight opted for a 5m scrum against the depleted Saints securing a pushover try for McRoberts to bring the visitors’ back into the game. The game pulsed from one end to the other for a short period as the visitors looked to further exploit the extra man. The Saints held firm and once restored to full strength started to dominate. A catch and drive made inexorable progress towards the Berry Hill try line before being illegally brought down. With the penalty signalled, Saints played the advantage to full effect as Shepherd and fly half Andy Ashwin spread the ball wide. James Earp exploded through the line like an Exocet leaving defenders trailing in his wake. The sonic boom echoed around St Austell Bay as the centre touched down under the posts allowing Shepherd to convert. Minutes later Skipper Ashwin got his back line moving again as the ball shifted quickly through hands to Alex Welland. The winger’s progress was halted but a deft off load to the supporting Sam Tank allowed the full back to swallow dive over for his 15th try of the season. Shepherd again converted to make the half time score 20-5.

A high tempo start to the second half had Berry Hill rocking on their heels. A Shepherd penalty increased the lead and there seemed to be no way back for the visitors. A promising move just outside their 22 broke down when careless play allowed the ball to be turned over in a ruck. In a blink of an eye the ball was moved over 40m deep into Saints territory giving the visitors an attacking platform. Berry Hill showed great skill and organisation to pick and drive ever closer to the try line. Their progress seemed unstoppable even with more and more Saints being committed to defence. The ball was then moved wide quickly allowing winger Bower to exploit the overlap for an unconverted try. From the restart winger Marcus McCoan caught the ball and jinked his way through the Berry Hill midfield before hands in the ruck allowed Shepherd to hit a 35m penalty to make it 26-10. The visitors mounted another charge and again used their big forwards to rumble onward. Saints seemed to be riding out the challenge until they were again reduced to 14 men. Replacement Mark Vian can count himself unlucky to be shown the yellow card for an overzealous hand-off deemed to be dangerous by the referee. The wrong player was signalled out despite the miked-up officials conferring on the pitch. Berry Hill again took full advantage with another pushover try through Lane converted by Ryder. At 26-17 and an hour gone Saints’ nerves were just starting to jangle, but Ashwin soothed the beating hearts with a series of excellent touch kicks. Shepherd missed a penalty with his only mistake in a flawless performance but he more than made up for it when sniping around the next scrum to steal the ball. The rampaging Saints forwards stormed through before flanker Adam Kellow touched down to the delight of the home crowd. Victory was secured by two rapid fire tries, first Tank turned provider with a mesmerising run through a tired defence to set McCoan away to score his first senior try for St Austell. The two youngsters went off to rapturous applause from the stands to be replaced by Treve Murley and Tom Miles. If Berry Hill thought there would be any respite with the departure of their two tormentors then they were very much mistaken. Murley burst out from full back to pass to Miles who cruised away before off-loading to the supporting Shepherd who sped over the line. The scrum half crowned a memorable performance with another conversion to complete the scoring and bring an end to a hugely entertaining match.

The Saints now have two more matches to achieve the dream of a Twickenham final appearance. The next round is against Wimborne from Dorset on Saturday 23 February 2013 KO 2:30pm at Tregorrick. The Saints return to league action next week with the visit of Tavistock (Saturday 9 February 2013 KO 2:30pm).

Match Stats:
St Austell: Noott; Grigg; Martin; Pearce; McNally; Kellow; Winterbottom; Jeffs; Shepherd; Ashwin (Captain); Welland; Earp; Venner; McCoan; Tank
Replacements: Murley; Nelson; Rowe; Howorth; Vian; Hughes; Miles

St Austell:
Tries – Earp (27); Tank (31); Kellow (70); McCoan (74); Shepherd (78)
Cons – Shepherd (5)
Pens – Shepherd (4)
Drop Goal –

Berry Hill:
Tries – McRoberts (18); Bower (48); Lane (60)
Cons – Ryder
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Yellow Cards:
St Austell: Winterbottom (17); Vian (60)
Berry Hill: Brown (70)

Red Cards St Austell: None Berry Hill: None

Referee: Mr K Williams (Cornwall RRS)

Saints Man of the Match: Matt Shepherd