The overnight icy blasts caused some early morning concerns, but these were soon dispelled as St Austell recorded a fine win on the road at a remarkably sun-kissed Bitton Park. Teignmouth were committed in defence throughout but found it hard going once the Saints found their rhythm after a tight opening quarter. Five first half tries were more a sign of clinical finishing rather than the Saints’ dominance, the second period was a different story however with the visitors in the ascendancy to add five more.

The opening exchanges were frenetic with both sides being penalised twice each for “holding-on” to thwart attacks in promising positions. The Saints were the first to adapt to the referee’s management of the contact area and a probing attack saw full-back Matt Shepherd cut back against the grain of the home side’s drift defence to open the scoring (0-7). Teignmouth hit back and a poor chase from a clearance kick was punished by a searing run from full-back Daniel Force. Scrambling defence left gaps out wide and an astute crossfield kick by fly-half Rio Cooper allowed winger Jude Baker-Hands to touchdown in the corner (5-7). The home side went in search of another score but a turnover by Cam Taylor sent centre Konnor Ewudzi roaring up field. The forwards secured the bridgehead in the Teign 22, and Chris Ashwin added the guile with a glorious side-step as the fly-half slipped in under the posts (5-14). The balance of territory and possession was beginning to tilt in the favour of the Cornishmen as the game entered the last ten minute of the first period. The Saints ran a move from a scrum on the home 22 on the stand-side, left winger Dan Tyrrell popped up in the outside channel and looped a long pass to his right-wing partner. Fraser Nottle still had work to do, demonstrating skill, pace, strength and bravery to slide in at the riverside corner despite the attentions of three defenders (5-19). From another solid scrum platform, Chris Ashwin sent a sumptuous pass out to Konnor Ewudzi who deployed the afterburners to arc around the defence and dot down in the corner, Matt Shepherd landed the touchline conversion to celebrate the collection of the Saints’ 11th try bonus point in 13 games (5-26). With half-time looming Chris Ashwin spotted a mismatch out wide to spin a pass to skipper Mark Vian who powered over with three home backs unable to contain the Gorran Lighthouse once he had the whiff of the try-line in his nostrils (5-31).

Any hopes the home side had of wrestling back the initiative from the Saints in the second half were soon dispelled when a driving maul created the blindside gap for scrumhalf CJ Boyce to scoot over (5-38). Chris Ashwin was again the provider drilling a pass out wide for Fraser Nottle to grab his second of the day (5-45). On the hour mark Fraser Nottle was almost in for his hat-trick, the ball was quickly recycled and with the Teign defence drawn towards the ruck, Matt Shepherd chipped a crossfield kick to give replacement winger Cavan Boyer the freedom of Devon to catch and score with his first touch of the game (5-50). Teignmouth showed great fortitude to put the visitors under pressure with ten minutes left in the match. A line out 10m from the try-line in front of the Clubhouse raised hopes of a consolation score drawing loud encouragement from a bevy of former players enjoying a reunion lunch. The Saints however found their inner Scrooge and it was number eight Kyle “Grinch” Marriott who stole the line out. The backs gambled by playing high risk rugby across the 5m line, but they reaped the rewards when Sam Parsons threw out a superb long pass to Matt Shepherd. The full back roared out of the 22 before passing to the supporting Konnor Ewudzi who accelerated away from the beleaguered chasing defence, then stepping inside to finish under the posts. Incredibly he was joined by four support runners in Hector Bright, Sam Parsons, Cavan Boyer and Matt Shepherd underlining the commitment and determination coursing through the team (5-57). The try broke Teignmouth hearts as their heads dropped for the first time with the game entering the final minutes. The Saints ran a series of penalties until the home side ran out of defenders giving Cav Boyer a simple finish to make the final score 5-62.

This was always seen as a difficult trip so the Saints will be delighted at their performance to maintain their place at the top. The focus will now switch to the final game of 2022 and another tricky away trip, this time up to Somerset to take on Wellington RFC (Saturday 17th December 2022, kick-off at 2:30pm)

Saints Star Man: Chris Ashwin – The Saints’ fly half puppeteer was at his string pulling best to set the Cornish backs on their way to nine tries. Even the one for the forwards stemmed from Chris’ vision and well-timed execution. The side-step for his own try was an object lesson in creativity and coolness under pressure as he created the space to spot a gap unseen by anyone else at Bitton Park to nonchalantly score under the posts.

Saints
1 Dan Job; 2 Pete Harris; 3 Charlie Nicholson; 4 Mark Vian (Capt.); 5 Andy Inch; 6 Rob Jeffs; 7 Cam Taylor; 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; Hector Bright; Cavan Boyer

St Austell:
Tries – Matt Shepherd (9); Chris Ashwin (16); Fraser Nottle (19, 56); Konnor Ewudzi (33, 72); Mark Vian (36); CJ Boyce (46); Cavan Boyer (60, 79)
Cons – Matt Shepherd (10, 17, 34, 47, 57, 73)
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Teignmouth:
Tries – Jude Baker-Hands (13)
Cons –
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Yellow Cards:
St Austell: None
Teignmouth: None

Red Cards:
St Austell: None
Teignmouth: None