St Austell 15 Tiverton 5

St Austell did enough to overcome a determined and spirited Tiverton side to stay top of the Tribute Western Counties West league. It was far from easy for Saints as Devon’s oldest rugby club continued their recent run of good form to put in a sterling performance that belied their position at the foot of the league. Tivy were organised in defence, tenacious in the tackle and disruptive at the breakdown. Their constant harrying of the Saints frustrated the home side’s desire to work with “clean” ball. A stalemate of a first half with little quality rugby on display was followed by a marginally better second period when the game opened up slightly. Saints were never really in danger of losing but had to work hard to secure the win against an opposition that just would not give up.

The match kicked off in crisp dry conditions but there was little to warm the large crowd in the first half on a chilly afternoon. Saints started with purpose putting the visitors under early pressure but found the tough tackling Devonians unwilling to cede any gaps in their defensive line. A near miss from a catch and drive pushed into touch at the corner flag was the nearest the Saints came to a try scoring opportunity in the opening quarter. The game settled into a dour attritional forwards battle with neither side able or willing to move the ball beyond their respective number 10s. Play was punctuated by a succession of scrums and line outs and the lack of continuity meant neither side was able to sustain an attacking platform. Saints finished the half with a flurry of half chances all thwarted by a wrong decision under pressure or a knock-on. Twice the home pack had the nudge in the scrum close to the Tivy line but on both occasions lost control when a pushover try looked possible. In the end the Saints had to settle for a solitary penalty kick from scrum half Matt Shepherd to give them the half time lead which they just about deserved given their territorial domination.

The second half started in the same vein as the first with the Tivy back row constantly killing the ball at the ruck. The game’s opening try arrived in the 47th minute and it was no coincidence that it stemmed from the first real phase of play not hindered by spoiling hands. Quick ball from a Saints scrum 10 metres outside their own 22 allowed fly half Andy Ashwin to draw in the defensive screen before the skipper cleverly dummied to Curtis Newberry. The centre, back from a spell on the treatment table, burst through the gain-line on a rampaging run that finally had the crowd on their feet. Reaching the opposition 22 he found flanker Jack Grigg in support who fed Shepherd who was hauled down short of the try line. The visitors were now on the back foot and from the next scrum Ashwin orchestrated a smart blindside move resulting in winger Ben Chenoweth crashing over in the corner. Shepherd just failed with the difficult touchline conversion; Matt Couzens entered the fray for his first Saints game of the season replacing number eight Ryan Evans. Saints were still struggling to find any rhythm to their play and the game became disjointed as the penalty count increased. Tiverton flanker Jamie Green was shown a long overdue yellow card on 62 minute for persistent infringement at the breakdown. Moments later another surging Newberry break shattered the Devon side’s defensive organisation. Quick ball allowed centre James Earp to drive forward before popping the ball to flanker Paul Winterbottom who galloped over in the corner to touch down. Shepherd made no mistake with the difficult kick to put Saints 15-0 ahead as the game entered the final quarter. Tiverton would not lie down and their exertions were rewarded with the game’s best try. Clean line out ball, quick hands across the back line created excellent field position on the Saints 22. For probably the first and only time in the game the visitors spun the ball wide instead of their usual pick up and drive completely wrong footing the home defence. The hesitation was enough to allow the ball to move unhindered to winger Hamish Pike who scored an unconverted try in the corner. The game fizzled out with Tiverton just failing to get a deserved losing bonus point when fly half Jimmy Atkins missed a penalty in the closing minutes.

With so many regulars missing due to a skiing holiday and injury it was perhaps unrealistic to expect a faultless display especially against a Tiverton side fighting for their lives. This was a game to grind out the result and with other sides failing to capitalise on the dropped bonus point Saints remain top of the pile. Man of the match for the Saints was centre Curtis Newberry whose surging midfield breaks lit up an otherwise dreary encounter.

Next week Saints travel to Torquay Athletic for the second leg of the “Riviera Derby” in what will be a major test of their promotion credentials. Saints delivered one of their performances of the season in beating the then table topping Tics 24-12 back in October. The Torbay side’s recent good run came to halt on Saturday at Okehampton and that defeat has seen them drop to 5th place and 10 points behind Saints with a game in hand. The encounter at the Recreation Ground could be pivotal for both sides in what promises to be an exciting afternoon in Devon!

Match Stats:
St Austell: Noott; Hughes; Martin; Pearce; Jeffs; Grigg; Winterbottom; Evans (48 Couzens); Shepherd; Ashwin (Captain); Chenoweth; Earp; Newberry; Taylor; Evison. Unused Replacements: Swiggs; Brown

St Austell: Tries – Chenoweth (47); Winterbottom (63)
Cons – Shepherd
Pens – Shepherd
Drop Goal –

Tiverton: Tries – Pike (73)
Cons –
Pens –

Yellow Cards: St Austell: None Tiverton: Green (62)

Red Cards St Austell: None Tiverton: None

Referee: Mr A Denham (Cornwall RRS)

Saints Man of the Match: Curtis Newberry