St Austell 13 Wellington 6

The Saints lost narrowly in Somerset back in December, so it was no surprise that the return was an equally tight encounter with defences dominating throughout. Saints overcame a poor start to gain the lead and then defended superbly at the end to close out the game and grind out the win.

With temperatures returning to normal after the highs of last week, the conditions were near perfect at kick off time in front of another large Tregorrick crowd. It was perhaps not surprising that the Saints started nervously after last week’s sobering experience against North Petherton. Despite initially gaining good field position, a series of unforced errors allowed Welly to turn the tables and camp in the hosts’ 22. The scrum was under pressure and there was real hesitancy in Saints play with Welly in total control. The home side dug deep with number 8 Ryan Evans leading the rear guard action, Welly were denied two try scoring opportunities through last ditch tackles. A chance to relieve the pressure was spurned when a penalty kick to touch was missed and the visitors looked to mount another charge. Fly half Matt Shepherd more than made up for his missed kick with two crunching tackles in the space of a minute. The diminutive 10 first took down a bullocking run by second row Mickey Norman before getting back on his feet to take out centre Luke Brown. The tide was turned and Saints were now the ones dictating play and dominating territory but Welly were proving equally stubborn in defence. A long range penalty by Shepherd on the half hour mark was just too short, but of bigger concern was yet another injury for the Saints. Centre James Earp came off with a twisted ankle to be replaced by Sam Rhodes, with the Cup Final looming all will be hoping he has a swift recovery. Minutes later the crowd were on their feet for a trademark defence splitting run by flanker Paul Winterbottom. With the try line in sight he was just caught but still managed to get the ball away to the supporting Marcus McCoan. The scrum half had done exceptionally well to get there but the ball landed at his feet and agonisingly he was unable to gather the ball to score his first Saints try. With half time looming, and in a complete reversal from the opening 10 minutes, Saints won a scrum against the head on the half way line. The quick thinking Evans picked up and charged at the disorganised defence making a deep incision into the Welly half. The ball was quickly recycled and centre Ian Venner scythed through the visitors to touch down under the posts. Shepherd converted, to send the Saints 7-0 ahead at halftime.

The second half proved to be an equally cagey affair, with the Saints determined to hang onto their lead. Welly pressure resulted in a penalty for offside in front of the posts which full back Mark Nichols easily dispatched to keep them on the home side’s shirt tails. Shepherd returned the compliment for a similar offence to restore the Saints 7 point margin. Saints were now edging the scrums and dominating the line outs through lock Sean Haley, whose constant competing on the Welly put-in was forcing them to throw to the back of line. A rare visit to the Saints 22 resulted in another penalty for not rolling away which Nichols converted. Winterbottom led the charge at the restart to turn over the ball; with Rhodes threatening to break through Welly conceded another penalty which Shepherd fired over with ease. That was the signal for Welly to bring on their player-coach, and ex-England and Gloucester man, David Sims for the last 8 minutes. The visitors mounted a last push to salvage the points through a series of catch and drives. Very much an Achilles heel in recent weeks, the coaches will have been delighted to see the hard work by the players pay off with each lineout repelled with ease. Referee Richard Pryor blew the final whistle to ensure a 13-6 victory for the Saints that keeps them in fourth spot.

There were a number of excellent performances today, Evans delivered his best display in a Saints’ shirt while Rhodes showed maturity alongside his considerable talent. Two players stood out, Venner for his all action display in the centre and Haley for his line-out dominance.
North Petherton’s win at St Ives confirms them as worthy Champions and condemns the Hakes to a second successive relegation. Saints still have a chance of making the play-off position but will need to take full advantage of any slip ups by Bideford and Torquay Athletic in the last two league games. All eyes can now turn to the Tribute Cornwall County Cup Final when Saints take on SW1 side Wadebridge Camels. The current squad will be looking to go one better than their illustrious predecessors from 1978 by bringing the Cup back to Tregorrick. (KO 15:45, Saturday 7 April 2012 at Penryn RFC).

Match Stats:

St Austell: Noott; Grigg; Williams (Knott 53); Pearce; Haley; Hughes (Jack); Winterbottom; Evans; McCoan; Shepherd; Chenoweth; Earp (Captain) (Rhodes 31); Venner; Welland; Evison. Unused Replacement Hughes (Joe)

St Austell: Tries – Venner (38)
Cons – Shepherd
Pens – Shepherd (2)
Drop Goal –

Wellington: Tries –
Cons –
Pens – Nichols (2)

Yellow Cards: St Austell: None Wellington: None
Red Cards St Austell: None Wellington: None

Referee: Richard Pryor (Cornwall RRS)

Saints Man of the Match: Ian Venner and Sean Haley