It was a hard-fought win on the road for the Saints on their first appearance on “The Common” at Marlborough RFC. A mixture of home defence and Cornish profligacy kept the game in the balance until the final ten minutes, but the visitors did enough to deservedly come away from Wiltshire with all five points. It was another early morning departure from Cornwall and with a return journey hampered by multiple road closures it meant a roundtrip of over sixteen hours!

The Common is an unusual setting with the open spaces giving the illusion of a pitch that goes on forever! Marlborough are a heady mix of flamboyant South Sea Island skill and Wiltshire grit, and they present a unique challenge on the Regional One fixture list. It is a case of expect the unexpected and be prepared for some hard collisions alongside extravagant skills. The opening exchanges were full on with the home side receiving a warning from the Referee after just two minutes following a couple of overly robust high tackles. Fly-half Matt Shepherd slotted the penalty to give the Saints an early lead (0-3). The Saints were looking sharp, but they were soon given a reminder of Marlborough’s devastating ability to counterattack when a stolen lineout on halfway saw them move the ball quickly through the hands for winger James Adams to score in the corner (5-3).

A combination of Dan Tyrrell and Rory Jago were held up, but Kyle Marriott used all his experience to poach a try as the home side tried to clear their lines (5-8). The game was being played at a frenetic pace at times with the home side enjoying their best moments when the structures broke down. Right-on half-time Marlborough broke and while the visitors felt there was a knock-on in the build-up, the home full back had no such qualms. Akariva Seruvatu went on a blistering run to the posts, giving Sione Matakaiongo a simple conversion to make the half time score 12-8.

Playing down the slope in the second half, the Saints were now starting to dominate the set piece and a penalty for a scrum collapse set-up a 5m lineout. The catch and drive shifted forward before the ball was whipped out for centre Ben Plummer to crash over to restore the Cornish lead on 51 minutes (12-13). The Cornishmen were now in the ascendancy, but it took another twenty minutes before they were able to convert one of the opportunities that came their way.

A thunderous driving maul was finished off by prop Matt Boothby to give the Saints the merest hint of some breathing space (12-18). The game entered a nervy phase with the Saints very aware that while the home side were within a converted try, one of the many gifted South Sea Islanders was more than capable of executing a moment of magic to steal the game. The Saints continued to go through the phases denying the home side any possession as they probed for a gap in the Marlborough defence. Cam Taylor’s return from a MCL injury was brutally brought to halt when he fell victim to an off the ball incident that left him withering in pain. While the offender’s actions were probably borne out of frustration and fatigue rather than malice, it was nonetheless an unnecessary act of foul play that could have serious repercussions for Cam.

The Saints finally got their fourth try to secure the bonus point when a glorious long pass from full-back Archie Bees gave Dan Tyrrell a channel to attack. The winger’s jinking feet left the home defence tied up in knots as he touched down in the corner to make the final score 12-23.

The win takes the Saint up to fourth in Regional 1 South West with just one game remaining in the 2024-25 season. Next week is a free weekend before the final round of league matches on Saturday 5th April 2025 with the Saints determined to hold on to their newly acquired league position. Fifth placed Launceston travel to Brixham with the home side needing to win to retain their hopes of promotion. While sixth placed Sidmouth have a derby day at third placed Exmouth. The Saints are on the road again when they head up to Champions-elect Barnstaple (Kick off 2:30pm).