The Somerset side are renowned for their front row prowess, but the Saints wearing their blue change strip, matched the hosts up front and held sway at the breakdown and lineout. A tight opening half hour saw the Cornishmen gradually tighten their grip on the game and two tries just before halftime gave them some breathing space. Two further tries in five minutes early in the second half seem to set the Saints up for another high scoring victory, but Chard’s unrelenting and tenacious defence held them out in an increasingly scrappy game. A fifth try towards the end of the game added some gloss to make the final score 34-0. The only blot on the day was a shoulder injury to hooker Miles Davey, but nonetheless it was a happy return across the Tamar for the Saints.

The home side had first use of the strong breeze blowing the length of the pitch, thankfully the heavy rain that blighted the journey up-country had relented but it left the pitch very soft under foot. The opening quarter seemed to be a succession of strongly contested scrums with penalties alternating between the two sides. The first chance of the match came on 17 minutes when the Saints spun the ball from a driving maul just inside the home 22. Centre Ben Plummer timed his run to perfection to break through the Chard midfield only to crash and bounce off the post protector and land on his back allowing the defence to recover preventing the touchdown. Chard went offside from the drop out restart giving fly-half Matt Shepherd an easy pot on goal (0-3). It was now apparent that Miles Davey could not carry on and Cornwall U20 prop Matt Boothby entered the fray with Charlie Nicholson moving across to hooker. The Saints were now edging territory and possession but were having to be patient in the face of a well organised and committed defensive display from the home side. Saints probed left and right as they attempted to stretch Chard, but they were perhaps guilty of going for the Hollywood pass to the wingers when moving the ball through the hands might have committed the defenders. The home side were beginning to clock up the penalties leading to blindside flanker David Morton seeing yellow for tackling a player without the ball. This created a chink in the backrow armour which the Saints ruthlessly exploited. A superb turnover by Hector Bright allowed the flanker to romp home from 15m to score in the corner (0-8). Minutes later a scrum in the Chard 22 saw the Saints feint an attack to the openside only for number eight Kyle Marriott to pick up and stroll-in unaccosted down the undefended blindside channel (0-13). Just before half time Chard winger Fin Shoemark launched a counter attack from inside his own 22 that had the Saints defence scrambling back. Winger Dan Tyrrell and full back Max Bullen combined to stop the attack on the Saints’ 22 and with a penalty awarded for holding on, the visitors were able to kick the ball to clear their lines. The half time whistle came but the Saints were now very much aware of how dangerous Chard could be if they got the ball in hand.

The visitors made a high tempo start to the second period with a series of fast paced attacks. Winger Fraser Nottle was caught just short of the line but a quick clear-out by the supporting forwards got the ball away in an instant. Matt Shepherd who used the three-man overlap as a decoy to almost run the width of the pitch along the 5m line, dived over for a try in the opposite corner. His touchline conversion took the score to 20-0. Minutes later replacement Konnor Ewudzi had an immediate impact with a brilliant scything run down the left wing that left three Chard defenders on their haunches. Running out of space close to the touchline, Konnor cut in-field and his perfectly timed offload sent flanker Rob Jeffs on his way (27-0). The home side dusted themselves off and a reshuffle of their front row tilted the continuing scrum arm-wrestle in their favour for a period as they looked to deny the Saints of quick ball. The Saints were grateful to locks Joe Maunder and Mark Vian for twice stealing Chard lineout ball, denying the home side the opportunity to create an attacking platform in the visitors’ 22. With the Cornish front row trio of Dan Job, Charlie Nicholson and Matt Boothby regaining the ascendency in the tight the Saints were able to finish the game on the attack. A barnstorming run from Matt Boothby got the Saints behind the Chard defence. Quick feet and faster hands from Sam Parsons enabled the centre to pop the ball to the supporting Matt Shepherd who finished under the posts. A routine kick for the third conversion of the day made the final score 0-34, five tries and five points.

The win keeps the Saints tucked in second place just three points behind Crediton who remain unbeaten at the top. Next week the Devonians travel to Tregorrick for what promises to be a no holds barred top of the table clash and a game not to be missed. Kick off on next Saturday 12th November 2022 is at 2:30pm

Saints Star Man: Charlie Nicholson – To win at Chard on the claustrophobic Essex Close pitch requires coming out on top in the front row battle first. The Somerset side seem to have a plethora of talented props, so it was always going to be a tough day at the office for the Saints combination. Injury to Miles Davey pushed Charlie Nicholson into the unfamiliar role of hooker but he was as resolute as the granite headland of Dodman that casts a shadow over his Gorran home. Charlie Nic remained a force around the park, stoic in the scrum and accurate in his lineout throwing.

Saints
1 Dan Job; 2 Miles Davey; 3 Charlie Nicholson; 4 Mark Vian (Capt.); 5 Tony Knight; 6 Rob Jeffs; 7 Hector Bright; 8 Kyle Marriott; 9 CJ Boyce; 10 Matt Shepherd; 11 Dan Tyrrell; 12 Ben Plummer 13 Sam Parsons; 14 Fraser Nottle; 15 Max Bullen
Reps (All used):
Konnor Ewudzi; Joe Maunder; Matt Boothby

St Austell:
Tries –Hector Bright (29); Kyle Marriott (36); Matt Shepherd (45; 77); Rob Jeffs (49)
Cons – Matt Shepherd (45; 49; 77)
Pens – Matt Shepherd (18)
Drop Goal –

Chard:
Tries –
Cons –
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Yellow Cards:
St Austell: None
Chard: David Morton (26)

Red Cards:
St Austell: None
Chard: None

Referee: Somerset RRS