Saints through to the County Final!

The runaway Cornwall and Devon league leaders arrived at Tregorrick full of confidence and determined to not only cause a cup upset but put down a marker for next season. The Saints had other ideas and avoided a potential banana skin through a determined and committed performance. Despite being outgunned up front and overwhelmed in the scrum, Falmouth never gave up and showed great handling at times in the backs. They also boast a tenacious well-drilled defence that makes every point earned hard work. The home side dominated territorially for long periods of the game and four second half tries eventually sealed the victory that sent the Saints through to the Final.

Falmouth had first use of the strong wind blowing the length of the field but soon found themselves pegged back by the strong running Saints. Two scrums against the head in short succession provided the platform for some intense pressure on the Falmouth try line. The Eagles somehow held out and a wind assisted clearance kick and an excellent chase forced the home side into conceding a penalty. Full back Tom Edmonds calmly despatched the kick to give the visitors the lead (0-3). A carbon copy followed ten minute later, and the Eagles found themselves 0-6 in front having only visited the Saints’ half twice. The home side went through the gears to retain the ball through 20 plus phases of play but the Falmouth rear-guard held firm. With half time looming the Saints had to settle for a single Liam Freeman penalty, a meagre return given their dominance (3-6).

Having held out for the entire forty minutes of the first half, Falmouth conceded a try within 40 seconds of the restart. Prop Hugh Noott and fly-half Chris Ashwin combined to allow number eight George Knowles to crash over for the first try (8-6). The Saints were now in attacking in waves but Falmouth showed great fortitude to prevent any further incursions across the try line. Toby Robinson’s mazy run was cut just short and both Adam Kellow and Jack Nelson were deemed to have been held up when they did breech the black wall. The pressure told in the end when centre Liam Freeman improvised with some Messi-esque skills to finally outwit the Eagles’ defence (15-6). The Saints continue to press forward and it was a route one approach after a 10m scrum accelerated at breakneck speed to allow George Knowles to grab his second try to put the Saints into a comfortable 20-6 lead. To their credit, Falmouth bounced back and finally showed some of their renowned attacking prowess in their solitary visit to the Saints’ 22 in the second half. Good ball retention allowed them to patiently build the phases, creating the gap for centre David Jones to dot down (20-13). The flickering hope of a comeback was quickly extinguished when skipper Miles Davey finished off some excellent work from Ben Chenoweth and Max Duggan. Liam Freeman’s conversion ensured the Saints’ safe passage into the final (27-13).

The Saints will await that the outcome of the other semi-final to learn if it is Wadebridge Camels or Truro they face in the final over the Easter weekend. It is back to the league next week with Torquay Athletic travelling to Tregorrick (KO 2:30pm).

Man of the Match – George Knowles The powerhouse number eight is a fearsome sight running with ball in hand, and an excellent performance was rewarded by two tries.

1 Hugh Noott; 2 Miles Davey (Capt.); 3 Charlie Nicholson; 4 Tony Knight; 5 Adam Pearce; 6 Max Duggan; 7 Jack Nelson; 8 George Knowles; 9 Andy Ashwin; 10 Chris Ashwin; 11 Cavan Boyer; 12 Liam Freeman 13 Shane Johns; 14 Ben Chenoweth; 15 Toby Robinson

Reps:
Peter Rowe; Adam Kellow; Hector Bright; Mark Martin; Dan Jane; CJ Boyce

St Austell:
Tries – George Knowles (41, 65); Liam Freeman (54); Miles Davey (71)
Cons – Liam Freeman (41, 54, 71)
Pens – Liam Freeman (39)
Drop Goal –

Falmouth:
Tries – David Jones (69)
Cons – Tom Edmonds (69)
Pens – Tom Edmonds (18, 31)
Drop Goal –

Yellow Cards:
St Austell: None
Falmouth: None

Red Cards:
St Austell: None
Falmouth: None

Referee: Mr N. Woodhead; AR1 Mr A Nicholas; AR2 Mr G Lock. (All from Devon Rugby RS)