By Steve Murley - Director of Rugby.

Senior Cup Rugby returns to Tregorrick this week as the Saints take on newly crowned Devon & Cornwall League Champions, Falmouth in the semi-final.

A home walkover in their last league game against Tamer Saracens saw them awarded 5 points and smash the 100 point barrier with 4 games still to play!!! This is a fabulous achievement from one of Cornwall oldest clubs and we offer them sincere congratulations.

Falmouth have lost just once this season, way back on October 29th against Plymstock Albion Oaks 14-9 and have scored an impressive 775 points while conceding just 218. This record shows very clearly that Falmouth are a side prepared to throw the ball around to score tries and have acquired a valuable winning habit that should give them great momentum going into this game.

The Saints have enjoyed a mixed few weeks with a WLWLWL record over the last six games. Performances have been, by and large, pretty good but we must ensure that we work hard at turning performances into results and squeezing ourselves through in tight situations.

With Falmouth going so well and Saints inconsistent with results I can understand why some people are making Falmouth favourites going into this game. Winning or losing is a habit that is difficult to shake and the Eagles will be relishing the challenge of coming to Tregorrick to put our noses out of joint.

This is Cup rugby and to be honest, form and league position can go out of the window once that whistle is blown. There will be 30 players on that pitch who won't be worried about who they played last week but focusing on how they can win this game and get to a Cup Final. It's a one-off and all about turning up on the day, delivering your best performance and seeing where that gets you.

Some of my best memories with St Austell are of great Cup runs in front of noisy and raucous crowds, but the Cup has also given me some of my worst days. Despite some enthralling games we have never won that particular trophy. To some of today’s younger players the County Cup may not have the cachet that it does for us old-timers, but for me it is a trophy that I feel we need to win.

Falmouth will see this as a brilliant opportunity to continue their all-conquering season, while the Saints know that if we can deliver an 80 minute performance another opportunity to lift that Cup beckons. All the ingredients are there and the stage is set for what should be an outstanding game. I am sure that we will have a fantastic atmosphere and noisy crowd at Tregorrick Park to see both sides battle it out. Why not come up and enjoy the unique Tregorrick Park atmosphere kick-off at 2:30....COYS !!!!!

In addition to this monumental battle on the turf at Tregorrick the club also recognises 18th March as the last round of 6 Nations matches with newly crowned 6 Nations Champions England going for the Grand Slam against Ireland. We will be showing Scotland V Italy at 1230, France v Wales at 1445 and Ireland v England at 1700 on our multi-screens in the club. A glorious day of rugby beckons and you are all invited to enjoy it with us!