St Austell notched up an important victory over the team immediately above them in Regional One SW to maintain their hold on sixth spot. The home side never really looked like losing the game once they got their noses in front on 15 minutes. The Saints were leading 14-3 at the interval after a breathless and enthralling first half and hopes were high that the home team would continue to build on their lead. The second period turned out to be a dour affair that did little to raise the spirits in the stand or trouble the scoreboard. While the Saints dominated territorially, they lacked the accuracy to overcome some stoic defending from the visitors. The final whistle was a welcome relief and allowed everyone to focus on the Christmas festivities in the Clubhouse.

Lydney started with all the confidence of a team who had scored eleven tries in their last outing, a 65-5 win at Ivybridge, to put the home side under early pressure. The home defence stood firm, and the visitors settled for a penalty from fly-half Jake Hanley on five minutes (0-3). The Saints started to wrestle back control of the game and good work by lock Tom Daniel set George Tregilgas on his way. The winger dotted down but a stray foot in touch meant the try was chalked off, but the momentum had swung to the home side. A catch and drive was held up just short of the line, hooker Peter Harris picked up and drove forward. The ball was recycled quickly allowing fly-half Matt Shepherd to slice through a stretched defence to score and then convert his own try (7-3). The home side continue to build and a sublime chip kick from Sam Parsons wrong footed Lydney’s rush defence. George Tregilgas showed his own footballing skills with a Messi-esque touch to control the ball with his right foot before touching down to make it 14-3 after 22 minutes. The search for a third try was met with by some resilient defending from Lydney with clear cut opportunities becoming scarce. The visitors finished the half just as they had started but found the Saints equally Scrooge-like in their own defensive duties.

There was excited chatter amongst the Festive crowd during the interval as they reflected on a fascinating contest so far and looked forward to the restart with eager anticipation. Unfortunately, much like a Christmas pudding after a big main course the second half turned into a stodgy affair. Both sides remained strong in defence and although the home side dominated territorially, they simply could not find that final telling pass to break through the wall of black shirts. Lydney rarely troubled the Saints’ 22 and were limited to a couple of breakaways that were quickly snaffled by the home defence. The best opportunities for the Saints fell during an intensive five-minute spell when they were twice held up on the line. A pushover try looked the likely outcome as the Saints pack surged forward from 5m out only to be denied when a penalty was awarded to the visitors. Not for the first time the home side were left feeling frustrated that their dominance at the scrum was not being rewarded. The stalemate continued and the final whistle brought a scoreless second period to an end, confirming a comfortable home 14-3 win.

It says much for the progress the Saints have made this season that there was disappointment amongst the home players that were not able to build on a strong first half. Nonetheless, they can be proud of their performances through the first half of the season and can approach the remaining games with confidence.

Next week they face a tough away trip to Brixham in a 2:30pm kick off at Astley Park for the final game of 2024.

Saints Player of the Match: Ben Plummer. Another tireless display from the Co-captain with some tough tackling and hard running.