Saints Kick Off With a Win!

Match Report by Paul Hayes
Photograph by Graham Walker

Honiton 9 St Austell 20

St Austell opened the season with a victory against a determined and hardworking Honiton side. Playing a newly promoted side away on the opening day of the season is always a tricky proposition so it was no surprise to the find the Devonians in confident mood.

The home side put the Saints under pressure for lengthy spells during the opening quarter. Strong Cornish defence ensured the try line was never really threatened as the home side took 6-0 lead through two Tom Steer penalties. Both sides showed attacking intent, but their ambitions often floundered due to the inevitable early season rustiness. Fly half Chris Ashwin pulled three points back for the Saints and a further exchange of penalty kick left the score delicately poised at 9-6 at the interval time.

The Saints dominated proceedings in the second half without ever really hitting their straps. From the restart the Saints forwards reclaimed the ball through the indomitable Andy Inch and never gave it up until prop forward Peter Rowe crashed over 6 minutes later (9-13). Honiton defended tenaciously to keep the visitors at bay as they looked to turn the pressure into points. Cameron Taylor nearly crowned an impressive senior debut at openside with a try only for his surging run to be halted just shy of the line.

As the game moved into the final ten minutes the Saints’ failure to add to the score gave renewed hope to Honiton causing a degree of nervousness amongst the visitors. The best however was saved to last when Max Bullen, another young debutant, went on a weaving run leaving string of despairing defenders behind him. A perfectly timed pass inside to CJ Boyce allowed the scrum half to scamper over the line. Chris Ashwin add the conversion to ensure four points were on the way back over the Tamar.

Despite several notable absentees due to injuries and a stag weekend, the Saints were still able to deliver a workmanlike performance to secure the win. It was perhaps understandable that it took time for the team to gel but the players coming in all performed well.

With the Club also able to field a strong Sinners side in a 52-38 defeat against Redruth IIs, the coaches will be delighted at the strength in depth demonstrated. With several staking strong claims, there will certainly be some selection headaches in the build-up to next week’s Cornish derby against newly promoted Penryn at Tregorrick (KO 3pm).

1 Ryan Brown; 2 Miles Davey (Capt.); 3 Peter Rowe; 4 Tony Knight; 5 Adam Kellow; 6 Andy Inch; 7 Cam Taylor; 8 Kyle Marriott; 9 CJ Boyce; 10 Chris Ashwin; 11 Fraser Nottle; 12 Ben Plummer 13 Sam Parsons; 14 Ben Chenoweth; 15 CJ Boyce
Reps (All used):
Max Bullen; Mike Shakespear; James Inch

Saints Star Man: Andy Inch

St Austell:
Tries – Peter Rowe (46); CJ Boyce (80)
Cons – Chris Ashwin (46, 80)
Pens – Chris Ashwin (20, 27)
Drop Goal –

Honiton:
Tries –
Cons –
Pens – Tom Steer (9, 14, 27)
Drop Goal –

Yellow Cards:
St Austell: None
Sidmouth: None

Red Cards:
St Austell: None
Sidmouth: None