Bude 6 St Austell 43

The win moves the Saints into second place in the Tribute Western Counties league and sets up a mouth-watering encounter next week with leaders North Petherton at Tregorrick Park. Played in warm autumnal sunshine this was an absorbing Cornish derby between the two County cup semi-finalists. The first half was a tight, forward orientated affair but Saints were able to impose themselves more in the second half to score five tries without reply.
The game was preceded by a two minute silence; an act of Remembrance impeccably observed by players and supporters alike. Referee Sara Cox signalled the start of the match with Saints kicking off into a bright low lying sun with a fluttering breeze at their backs. The home side were immediately under pressure and were clearly struggling to contain the visitors’ pacey backs. Centre Curtis Newberry broke the defensive curtain but was held up just short of the line. The ball was quickly secured and a superb long pass from fellow centre Sam Rhodes allowed winger Rob Orton, a late call up from the Sinners, to dive in at the corner. Scrum half Matt Shepherd narrowly missed the difficult conversion. Saints were unable to add to their early score and Bude used their forwards well to gain territory and cut off the supply to the visitors’ back line. The Saints defence line was holding up well under sustained pressure until hands in the ruck allowed winger Dan Pearce to claw back 3 points. Bude regained the initiative when the Saints restart failed to go 10m and repeated the whole process allowing another Pearce penalty to edge Bude 6-5 in front with 27 minutes gone. With both packs disrupting their opposition’s set piece plays quality ball was at a premium making it an absorbing attritional contest for territory. Saints at last secured quick ruck ball that allowed Newberry to break through, full back Callum Evison hit the line at pace in support to feed winger Ben Chenoweth whose brilliant finish in the corner restored the Saints lead. The visitors’ joy was tempered slightly as hooker Joe Hughes was forced to leave the field with a knee injury to be replaced by Jack Grigg. No further score meant that Saints were just in front at 10-6 as the halftime whistle blew.

Bude started the second half towards their favoured Clubhouse end and immediately put Saints under pressure. The hosts clearly believed that their best route was to use their hefty forwards to gain ground and then look for a three pointer. Offside at a ruck gave Bude what turned out to be their last scoring opportunity but the impressive Pearce just failed with the 40m kick. Saints at last started to enjoy more quality possession allowing the young backline to use their speed to greater effect. Bude’s defence was becoming more stretched as Saints probed for a breakthrough and Rhodes almost made it through only to be thwarted illegally. Skipper Andy Ashwin, sensing that Bude were on the rack, elected to kick to touch. The Saints catch and drive was stopped just short but from the next phase flanker Paul Winterbottom touched down under the posts with Shepherd adding the two points. Saints were now very much in the ascendency and were also now gaining the edge in the tight. Bude were pushed off their own scrum and Shepherd quickly got his centres away with Evison again timing his run to perfection to create the extra man. Orton looked to have scored but brave defence by Bude held the ball up. All was in vain however, when from the resulting 5m scrum number 8 Ryan Evans crashed over to secure the bonus point with his first score in a Saints shirt. Bude were now holding on but were proving determined and resolute in defence but the cracks were appearing and Bude were left reeling by a blistering 5 minute spell that saw Saints score three tries. On 69 minutes Shepherd crowned his best performance since returning from Redruth with an excellently taken opportunist try following good counter rucking by his forwards. Shepherd added the extras but was soon repeating the act from the same spot when straight from the restart Evison tore through the Bude first up defence to feed Chenoweth who ran in from 30m to dot down under the posts. Rhodes was then replaced to allow Marcus McCoan on for his Saints debut and the youngster acquitted himself well on his first taste of league rugby. The final score came on 74 minutes when Winterbottom isolated Bude hooker Jason Bolt, a thorn in the Saints side all afternoon, and ripped the ball from him before dashing unhindered for his second try under the posts to the obvious delight of his teammates. Shepherd added the conversion and not long after Referee Sara Cox, who did well to keep the game flowing all afternoon, whistled for time to confirm an excellent 43-6 win for the Saints on the road.

Man of the match for Saints was Curtis Newberry whose incisive running created problems for Bude all afternoon. This was a hard fought victory in which the Saints had to first wear down a strong pack and adapt to the narrow home pitch. In the second half Saints were able to launch their fast backline far more frequently and exploit the gaps that appeared in the tiring Bude defence. Saints now face leaders North Petherton at Tregorrick Park determined to knock them off their top spot.

Match Stats:

St Austell: Noott (Knott 73), Hughes (Grigg 34), Martin, Pearce, Haley, Jeffs, Winterbottom, Evans, Shepherd, Ashwin (Captain), Chenoweth, Rhodes (McCoan 71), Newberry, Orton, Evison

St Austell: Tries – Orton (4); Chenoweth (32, 71); Winterbottom (49, 74); Evans (55); Shepherd (69)
Cons – Shepherd (4)
Pens –

Bude: Tries –
Cons –
Pens – Pearce (2)

Yellow Cards: St Austell: None Bude: Thabo Mitchell (63)

Red Cards St Austell: None Bude: None

Referee: Sara Cox (DRRS)

Saints Man of the Match: Curtis Newberry