St Austell RFC is still reeling from the devasting news that former Club Captain Robert “Guppy” Pollard had passed away in tragic circumstances during the week. It made for an emotional occasion on Saturday with family, former teammates and friends still coming to terms with the sudden loss of someone loved and held in such a high esteem by One and All. There have been many touching tributes to the Big Man, none more so than the U13s who before training on Wednesday evening stood in sombre remembrance of their fallen coach.

On Saturday the flags of St Piran and St Austell RFC flew at half-mast as the players of both sides lined up before the kick-off in honour of a great rugby man. An emotionally charged Tregorrick shared their grief with Guppy’s wife Sue and his daughters Charlotte and Lowenna and then roared in celebration of a Club Colossus, a Big Man with an even bigger heart and one of life’s true characters. Guppy’s beloved Saints did him proud with a barnstorming display that would have undoubtedly met with his approval in the pint-fuelled post-match analysis.

Sidmouth had first use of the strong wind but were initially blown away by a hurricane of emotion coming in the opposite direction. The Saints put the visitors under pressure from the start and when skipper Mark Vian secured the lineout from 5m there was only going to be one outcome. The driving maul thundered forward at blistering speed, and it was flanker Rob Jeffs in the vanguard who scored the opening try in Apples corner. Matt Shepherd slotted the difficult conversion into the wind to put the Saints 7-0 in front. The waves of attacks from the home side were relentless and with the Sidmouth defence sucked in a sublime pass from Sam Parsons sent winger Fraser Nottle into the corner (12-0). Sam Parsons was the provider again, this time with a deft grubber kick that Fraser Nottle scooped up as he dived in at the opposite corner by Frosty’s bar (17-0). With the opening berserker tempo dissipating Sidmouth started to harness the SW wind to peg the home side back. The Saints renowned defence came under some intense scrutiny from the Devonians but was holding firm. It took some vision, a fortuitous bounce and skilful finishing for Sidmouth to finally cross the whitewash. Fly-half Cole Monaghan spotted space in behind the Saints and sent a wind-assisted kick deep into the Cornish territory. Sam Heathcote followed the kick to put pressure on the covering Matt Shepherd but as the ball bounced diagonally back in-field the Sidmouth winger was able to gather the ball to score in the corner (17-5). The home side withstood Sidmouth’s search for another score as half-time approach and they lifted the siege with a penalty that enabled them to set up a line-out in the Sidmouth 22. A well-executed catch and drive saw the Saints pack and assorted backs rumble over from 15m with flanker Hector Bright touching down for the bonus point and the half-time whistle (22-5).

The Saints started the second period like the first with waves of high tempo probing attacks. With the Sidmouth defence increasingly drawn to manning the barricades around the breakdown area, scrum-half CJ Boyce spun the ball out to exploit the space on the flank. Sam Parsons popped to the looping Chris Ashwin, Konnor Ewudzi ran the decoy, Matt Shepherd drew his opposite number before sending Fraser Nottle in for his hattrick (29-5). The Saints struck again from the restart after a surging run from lock Andy Inch took play back into the Sidmouth half. Fraser Nottle took the ball on and stayed strong under the attentions of two Sidmouth defenders before offloading to the supporting Matt Shepherd who made it over the line despite a despairing last-ditch tackle (34-5). Sidmouth again came back and had long periods of possession but could not find a way through the metronomic Cornish defence. Just before the hour mark Rob Jeffs grabbed his second try of the day from another ruthlessly efficient catch and drive (41-5). The final score came from a mesmerising tap penalty move that saw the ball change direction three times before Kyle Marriott crashed over under the posts to make the final score 48-5.

Both sides and Referee Lucy Smith deserve great credit for an excellent game high on skill and endeavour in difficult conditions. The constantly changing weather saw sunshine, strong winds, bouts of heavy rain and even a hailstorm that momentarily turned the pitch white. An arching rainbow over Tregorrick in the second half crowned a fitting tribute to a great rugby man.

The win puts the Saints ten points clear at the top of table ahead of next week’s Cornish derby against second placed Truro at St Clement’s Hill (Saturday 14th January 2023, kick-off at 2:30pm)

Saints Star Man: Rob “Guppy” Pollard – Big Man, Big Character, Big Heart – the outpouring of love and affection for Guppy has been humbling to see and the Saints were able to harness the emotions with a dominant display. Rest easy Guppy, enjoy the tour!

Saints
1 Dan Job; 2 Miles Davey; 3 Charlie Nicholson; 4 Mark Vian (Capt.); 5 Andy Inch; 6 Rob Jeffs; 7 Hector Bright; 8 Kyle Marriott; 9 CJ Boyce; 10 Chris Ashwin; 11 Dan Tyrrell; 12 Konnor Ewudzi 13 Sam Parsons; 14; Fraser Nottle; 15 Matt Shepherd

Reps (All used):
Matt Boothby; Joe Maunder; Cavan Boyer

St Austell:
Tries – Rob Jeffs (2, 58); Fraser Nottle (7, 12, 45); Hector Bright (40+2); Matt Shepherd (47); Kyle Marriott (76)
Cons – Matt Shepherd (2, 45, 58, 76)
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Sidmouth:
Tries – Sam Heathcote (24)
Cons –
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Yellow Cards:
St Austell: None
Sidmouth: None

Red Cards:
St Austell: None
Sidmouth: None

Referee: Lucy Smith (Somerset RS)