St Austell left themselves a mountain to climb after a dominant start was left in tatters by three converted tries conceded in a calamitous five-minute spell. The home side continued to take the game to Old Northamptonians (ONs) but found the visitors resolute in defence and clinical in attack. Two long range penalties at the start of the second half meant the Saints had to chase the tries to have any chance of reeling in a healthy lead. The high-risk rugby made for an entertaining and intriguing contest, but ONs had enough guile to pick up crucial scores when the chances appeared.

After months of record rainfall and howling winds, it was a welcome change to see Tregorrick bathed in early Spring sunshine with a barely discernible breeze. The home side got off to a cracking start setting a high tempo from the outset. ONs were resolute and disciplined in defence despite being stretched to the edge a number of times. Patience and pressure finally told when the ball was worked wide to centre Jamie Stanlake who finished in style in Apples Corner on 13 minutes (5-0). ONs looked for a quick reply and it was the home side’s turn to put in a strong defensive set. The danger seemed to have been averted when flanker Cam Taylor got his hands on the ball at a ruck. The penalty was kicked to the 40m but instead of the chance for the Saints to build momentum again, ONs stole the line out. In a flash they launched a counter-attack eventually scoring in the far corner. A superb touchline conversion gave the visitors a lead they were never to relinquish (5-7). Some lacklustre tackling from a shell-shocked Saints saw them concede two more tries in quick succession, leaving them almost cut adrift on 30 minutes in a game they had largely dominated during the opening quarter (5-21). It was crucial the home side scored next and with the forty minutes up they held their nerve through 12 phases of play to enable Cornwall U20s hooker Peter Harris to power over. Archie Bees added the extras to keep in the Saints in touch at the interval (12-21).

The Saints were guilty of being over anxious to gain possession and were punished by two long range penalties in the opening five minutes as ONs extended their lead (12-27). Things became a little feisty, with the ONs scrum-half given a yellow card for a nasty looking high tackle. The miscreant was soon joined by Miles Davey and the ONs number eight after the pair had a robust exchange of views. To compound Saints’s woes, Peter Harris was denied a second try with the Officials unsighted on the grounding. On the hour mark Saints finally converted their pressure into points, with Hugh Noott crashing over at the second time of asking. The veteran prop had already touched down once, but the referee had fallen over in the build up and felt unable to award the try. Luckily Nootty was able to repeat the task to save any blushes and bringing the scores to 19-27. Hopes of a comeback were quickly derailed when a long restart kick was dropped giving the ONs an attacking scrum on their first visit to the Saints 22 of the second half. The visitors showed their attacking prowess from first phase with a sweeping move to score in the corner. Another touchline conversion in a flawless kicking display by the ONs fly-half made it 19-34. Centre Ben Plummer showed great strength to score but the joy was short lived with the officials again unsighted. The yellow card issued for the high tackle in the build-up was of little consolation to the home side. Peter Tuckley showed great composure to score (26-34) but the Saints were again sucker punched at the restart (26-41). The home side showed great spirit with winger Alex Welland scoring in the corner (33-41). The game finished in confusion with the Saints believing they had a penalty advantage, flanker Hector Bright tackled an ONs defender in the in-goal area to touch down the dislodged ball. A protracted discussion by the three match officials decided the ball had been knocked on to deny the Saints a losing bonus point.

Next week the Saints make the 300-mile trek to Tring RFC in Hertfordshire (Kick Off 2pm – Saturday 27th April 2024)

Saints Star Man: Archie Bees – Given the difficult task of replacing the unavailable Matt Shepherd, young Archie delivered a statement performance. Oozing with guile and poise, committed in defence and determined to set the backs free.

Saints
1 Matt Boothby; 2 Pete Harris; 3 Charlie Nicholson; 4 Mark Vian (Captain); 5 Jake Arms; 6 Joe Maunder; 7 Cam Taylor; 8 Kayden Michael; 9 CJ Boyce; 10 Archie Bees; 11 Dan Tyrrell; 12 Ben Plummer; 13 Jamie Stanlake; 14 Sam Parsons; 15 Chris Ashwin

Reps (All used):
Hugh Noott; Scott Pearce; Miles Davey; Hector Bright; Antony Knight; Peter Tuckley; Alex Welland

St Austell:
Tries – Jamie Stanlake (10); Peter Harris (40 + 2); Hugh Noott (59); Peter Tuckley (70); Al Welland (78)
Cons – Archie Bees (40 + 3, 60, 71, 79)
Pens –
Yellow card – Miles Davey (54)

ONs:
Tries – (22, 25, 27, 62, 74)
Cons – (23, 26, 28, 63, 75)
Pens – (42, 49)
Yellow card – (51); (54); (72)

Referee: Dan Thorogood (Cornwall RRS)