It was Landlords Day at St Austell with eight local pubs enjoying pre-match hospitality ahead of the Jewson sponsored encounter with Devon rivals Sidmouth. It made for a vibrant atmosphere in the stand and the crowd were royally entertained by an intriguing contest. Matches between these two sides in recent years have been hard fought tight affairs and this encounter was no different. The game was still in the balance at half time with the score tied at 10-10, the home side gained greater control after the break to score two unanswered converted tries. It was never entirely comfortable with Sidmouth regularly threatening but the home defence stood firm to secure a deserved win.

A grey overcast day with little wind and thankfully marginally warmer temperatures than recent weeks set the perfect stage for an intriguing mid-table clash. The Saints made a fast start to dominate possession in the opening exchanges. The Sidmouth defence proved up to the task to keep the home side at bay forcing the Saints to settle for a penalty, converted by Matt Shepherd on 14 minutes (3-0). Sidmouth struck from the restart when a powerful run from former Exeter Chief Shaun Malton caused panic in the home defence. The flying flanker was eventually taken down, but it was to cost the home side dear with Saints’ winger George Tregilgas suffering a shoulder injury for an intervention that was deemed high. Sidmouth kicked the penalty to touch and then executed a forceful catch and drive to score a try on their first visit to Saints territory (3-5). The game was now finely balanced with both sides looking threatening with ball in hand but equally strong in defence. With the interval approach the Saints were starting to gain an edge with some sustained pressure. Sidmouth flanker Tom Hodge was sent to the sinbin after a mistimed tackle on Saints fly-half Chris Ashwin. The resulting catch and drive rumbled towards the tryline but was illegally brought down, playing with advantage the ball was spread wide. Winger Peter Tuckley still had work to do as he first stepped inside and then powered over in Apples Corner, Matt Shepherd added the extras to make it 10-5 with just two minutes to go to halftime. Again, Sidmouth hit back immediately, recovering the ball at the restart it was a touch of class from another former Chief Phil Dollman who spun out a superb long pass to stretch the home defence. Winger Tom Price scorched up the touchline before passing inside to full back Rory O’Brien to score in the corner (10-10).

Sidmouth started the second half strongly pinning the home side back but were unable to craft an opportunity against some determined defending. The game was stopped on 49 minutes after a nasty clash of heads with Matt Shepherd on the receiving end of a mistimed tackle by Liam Hilliar. Thankfully both players were well looked after by their respective physios, with the Sidmouth prop replaced as a precaution. No sooner had the game restarted it was halted again following a leg injury to Saints co-captain Ben Plummer forcing George Tregilgas to return to the fray. The home side were the first to settle after the disruptions and number eight Adam Powell blasted over the tryline to finish off a series of forceful drives (17-10). The young guns of the Saints front row were starting to gain the edge in the scrum and Dan Tyrrell, now at scrum half following a reshuffle of the Saints backline, was on hand to dot down after a powerful scrum surge (24-10). The final 10 minutes ebbed and flowed with both sides looking for a try to add a bonus point. In the end the Saints were unable to add the fourth try while Sidmouth were denied the score that would have given them a losing BP that perhaps their efforts on the day deserved.

The win takes the Saints up to fifth in Regional One SW and they will look to consolidate that position when they welcome Marlborough next week to a 2:30pm kick off at Tregorrick.

Saints Player of the Match: Adam Powell. A powerhouse performance from the number eight who constantly broke the gain line in attack and delivered some characteristic hits in defence.