St Austell slumped to their biggest league defeat in over a year and perhaps more surprisingly the normally free scoring Saints failed to cross the line for even a solitary consolation try. Saints failure to match Truro’s aggressive and physical approach meant that they had little quality ball to work with in a match littered with penalties and off the ball incidents. The penalty count was 19-4 against Truro who also received two yellow cards and if Referee Mr Andy Robinson had eyes in the back of his head it could have been a lot more.
The home side started the game with a strong wind blowing at their backs and immediately put the Saints under pressure. The fired up Truro pack drove Saints backwards and once within sight of the visitors try line played a smart blindside moved that allowed full back Chevvy Reed to touch down in the corner with only two minutes gone. Fly half Jake Champion just failed with the conversion but this was to be his only miss in difficult conditions. Truro continued to apply pressure and were content to give away penalties to disrupt any Saints possession. Young Saints prop Josh Durant was knocked out on 12 minutes but much to the consternation of the large travelling support the Referee deemed the clash an accident. Replacement Will Hancock came on straight into the resulting scrum and with the Saints pack having to adjust Truro launched an excellent move for their second try. Quick ball from the base of the scrum stretched the visitors’ defence allowing Reed to hit the line at pace. Evading a number of tackles he scored in the right hand corner with Champion making light of a difficult conversion. Saints at last sprang into action with a series of forward drives that started to put some pressure without really finding the gap. Skipper Andy Ashwin deserved better when his clever drop goal attempt hit the cross bar. Truro continued to infringe at times of danger but against a stiff wind scrum half Matt Shepherd was only able to take one penalty from three attempts. Another injury saw influential centre James Earp carried off to be replaced by Sean Haren. With half time looming Saints would have felt confident of exploiting the wind in the second half. However Truro scored a crucial third try when winger Luke Trescothick charged out of the home 22 making at least 30m. Truro’s forwards quickly recycled the ball through a number of phases against a now stretched Saints defensive line. The ball was spread wide and with a clear overlap Mark Lea had the simple task of touching down. Champion again converted to make the score 19-3. Saints tried to hit back and a promising move was cut short by a Truro high tackle. This time the referee had no choice but to issue a yellow card to flanker Garth Dodgson. Shepherd just failed with the penalty attempt right on half time.
Now with the wind at their backs it was Saints turn to apply the pressure and with just 3 minutes gone Truro were down to 13 men with another yellow card for persistent infringement. Tenacious defence by Truro kept Saints at bay although Shepherd added another penalty to reduce the deficit. Saints had to adjust again when lock Adam Pearce, who had been one of Saints best ball carriers, came off injured following a knee in the back. The visitors came close on a number of occasions but were held up just short and with parity in numbers restored the game developed into a midfield stalemate. Saints dominated possession but were unable to deliver a scoring chance as Truro kept them out of range of the try line. It was Truro who finished the stronger as the belief ebbed away from the visitors. In the 74th minute poor tackling following a Truro scrum allowed Dodgson to score with Champion again converting the try. With the clock ticking down a penalty in front of the post allowed Champion to seal victory with the final three points of the match.
After the highs of last week’s fine performance against Torquay Athletic this was a bitterly disappointing come down for Saints especially against their nearest rivals. On the day Truro thoroughly deserved their victory as they never let Saints settle and took their chances to build an assailable lead. Saints never matched the physicality of the Truro team and were uncharacteristically loose in defence. The only bright spot on the day was Saints Man of the Match Sean Haley who dominated the line outs. Truro’s experience at this level showed and Saints will have learnt from today’s game and will look to bounce back against Bideford next week.
Match Stats:
St Austell: Durant (Hancock 12), Hughes, Martin, Pearce (Black 49), Haley, Grigg, Jeffs, Evans, Shepherd, Ashwin (Captain), Chenoweth, Earp (Haren 29), Welland, Newberry, Murley
St Austell: Tries –
Cons –
Pens - Shepherd (2)
Truro: Tries – Reed (2, 15); Lea (35); Dodgson (74)
Cons – Champion (3)
Pens – Champion (1)
Yellow Cards: St Austell: None Truro: Dodgson (38); Tidball (43)
Red Cards St Austell: None Truro: None
Referee: Mr Andy Robinson (CRRS)
Saints Man of the Match: Sean Haley