Saints Storm to Summit

Report by Paul Hayes
Photo by Dave Philips

St Austell 15 Wellington 14
St Austell and Wellington defied all that Storm Dennis could throw at them to deliver a pulsating top of the table clash. Roared on by a vociferous crowd that at times drowned out the noise of the howling wind, the Saints snatched victory in dramatic style with a try in the final play of the game. Both sets of players deserve huge credit for delivering a game that was high on skill, passion and endeavour.

Wellington had the first use of the elements and as expected, dominated territory in the opening exchanges. The visitors’ patient build-up was to become a feature of the match, and with just over 10 minutes gone Welly turned the screw near the home try line with prop Jack Richards crashing over. Full back Robert Hooper slotted the conversion from in front of the posts (0-7).

Any fears that the floodgates might open were soon dispelled as the Saints dug deep to remain resolute and disciplined in defence. The visitors were contained just outside the home 22 for long periods, but Welly were starting to gain an edge at the scrum. A tactical change saw Mark Martin come on to anchor the set piece and as the match wore on, fortunes at scrum time changed in the Saints’ favour. The two sides slugged away like the two Western Counties West heavyweights they are, and although Welly had the Saints on the ropes a few times they were never able to land the killer blow. Reaching halftime just 7-0 down felt like a moral victory for the Saints as both sides sought the sanctuary of the changing rooms for a welcome respite from the wind and rain.

Saints started the second half in much the same way as Welly commenced the first with a series of menacing driving plays. A penalty for offside on the 45th minute allowed Chris Ashwin to get the hosts on the scoreboard (3-7) and it felt like the scene was set for the Saints comeback. Welly proved equally tenacious in defence as the Saints had been, and they managed to withstand the home charges. A turnover in the home half allowed Welly to start a prolonged phase of play that would eventually deliver the try of the match. The visitors showed exactly why they were league leaders as they patiently moved the ball deep into the Saints 22. The visitors’ meticulous retention of the ball in horrendous conditions and under pressure from a robust Saints’ defence eventually allowed hooker Liam Phillips to punch a hole through to the try line. Robert Hooper’s remarkable near touchline conversion into the teeth of a gale left the home crowd stunned (3-14).

Welly had done what St Austell could not manage and that was score against the wind. Buoyed by their success they repeated their driving play from the restart and the Saints defence was stretched to breaking point again. With home numbers pulled into the ruck, Welly had created an overlap baying for the ball. As the pass went out, Saints’ Flanker Andy Inch spotted the danger and his perfectly timed tackle caught man and ball at the same time. The resulting knock on allowed Saints to clear the danger and undoubtedly saved the game for the home side.

The experienced heads in the home side steadied their younger charges and soon it was the Saints that were back in the ascendancy. A prolonged period of pressure followed, and it was number eight Kyle Marriott who crashed over the try line, Chris Ashwin’s conversion made it 10-14. Minutes later the Saints thought they had scored a second when Marriott picked up from a now dominant scrum to touch down. However, with the game being officiated by a team of three from the Cornwall Rugby Referees Society, an eagle-eyed Assistant Referee spotted the feed into the scrum had gone straight through the tunnel before being dragged back in and so the score was chalked off.

The pressure was now mounting and Mark Vian, who had dominated the line out in nightmare conditions for throwers and jumpers, secured the ball to set up a rumbling maul from 20m out. By the time the drive hit the try line there were 13 Saints with their shoulders to the wheel. The Saints thought they had scored but referee Danny Robins was not happy with the grounding to leave the home side frustrated again. The clock was ticking down and the Saints were now throwing everything into attack but Welly were holding firm. The tension around the ground was palpable. A penalty for a high tackle gave Saints an attacking scrum just 10m from the Welly line. Three times Saints drove forward and three times the visitors were penalised for collapsing the scrum. A final warning was issued along with a yellow card to scrum half Dan Goldstone for some choice words to the referee. The eighty minutes was now up, and the fourth scrum was now all or nothing for the home team. Expecting another eight-man shove, Welly shuffled their back line across to replace the now departed number 9, and with the crowd roaring “heave” Marriott picked up and fed Chris Ashwin. The fly half’s quick hands unleashed winger Cavan Boyer who blitzed through the gap in the visitors’ backline to ignite wild scenes of joy amongst the home players and in the stand.

The hardest fought of victories against a very good Wellington side, the result could have gone either way in a thrilling contest. The win enables the Saints to leapfrog Welly to top the table by a single point. The Somerset side of course have a game in hand and those in attendance at Tregorrick Park will know what a good side Welly are, and had they won, the title race would probably have been over. Both Clubs have Cup competitions to contend with along with tricky games against the chasing pack so expect more twist and turns in the home straight to April.

Saints Star Men: Andy Inch – There were several candidates for man of the match, Mark Vian ruled the air waves at the line out to gain good ball for the Saints and frequently disrupt Welly’s. Choppy Martin helped turn the Saints scrum into a potent attacking weapon and number eight Kyle Marriott’s tireless work rate kept the Saints plugging away when under pressure. The award went to blindside Andy Inch who’s try saving tackle undoubtedly turned the game in the Saints’ favour. Inchy never stinted during the 80 minutes, constantly driving forward with the ball and Herculean in defence.

What’s Going On!:

Saturday 22nd February - The Saints have a week off so we have Sinners v Bodmin in the semi-finals of the Duchy Plate. 2pm KO . Also, and this is why 2pm is a good time to arrive, at 2.15pm we have Italy v Scotland then at 4.45pm we have Wales v France all on the big TVs with a bar open and FREE ENTRY to all.

Sunday 23rd February - We have Cornwall Girls U15 County team playing in a number of games at Tregorrick from 10am until around 4pm. We also are showing England v Ireland so double the reason to come up. The BBQ will be supplying food and the bar is open.

Friday 20th March - St Austell RFC U9's are holding a family Prize Bingo evening. Doors will open at 6.15pm with 'eyes down' at 7.15pm and the bar is open! Proceeds towards this years annual U9's festival held here at Tregorrick and the Saints Family Rugby Fund (that pays for kit, volunteer training and a number of other rugby related things). No tickets required...Just turn up.

Easter Weekend – Saints play either Truro or Veor in the County Cup final! We believe its going to be on Easter Saturday but we are waiting for confirmation on date, time and venue from CRFU. A much augmented ‘Massive’ will be travelling to support them…eyes peeled for details of how we will move en-masse soon.

17th-19th April 2020 is our ever expanding Ale, Cider and Gin Festival. Stacks of live rugby, food, live music and a superb selection of drinks to try. Update to this is that the Sunday session will now include the Cornwall Colts Finals day so some fantastic rugby to watch and refreshments to enjoy during each of the sessions now! Volunteers to work the Ale/Cider bar, kitchens or to just generally help are required. Please email events@staustellrfc.co.uk if you can give a couple of hours or more on one of the days.

Tuesday 28th April 2020 We host Cornwall v Devon at Tregorrrick Park in the Tamar Cup KO 7.30pm.

Saturday 16th May - Confirmed date for Senior Players end of season dinner and awards. Number of seats and price to be announced soon!