Report by Ian Grantham
Photo – Graham Walker, of Man of the Match Matt Boothby and seasoned veteran Rob Jeffs.

Sherborne v St Austell RFC

Regional 2 Tribute South West League
Sherborne 7 St Austell 22

The Saints longest away trip of the season ended up in victory against a ‘nuggety’ Sherborne side who loved to run the ball fast and wide.

Two tries for the saints and one for Sherborne in the first half and the promise of St Austell playing down what slope the pitch had, had the casual observer thinking that
the try frequency may well increase in the second period, but it wasn’t to be. In a second half largely played in the Saints half, only a Danny Tyrrell try moved the scoreboard along and a try scoring bonus point left on the Terrace Playing Fields. A tussle in the still strong Dorset sunshine ended with a 4-point win 22-7.

The journey to Sherborne evoked memories of the accident strewn trek to Lydney almost exactly 12 months ago. The Saints bus soon became a hive of navigational planning and forecasting, as the opportunity for a break and food dissolved due to the weight of traffic diverted off a closed Northbound M5.

A short kick off extension was granted, and at 3.14pm, players, match officials, ball fetchers, team management and supporters stood in absolute silence, united in remembrance of Queen Elizabeth II.

The Saints got the game underway and a couple of competitive unknowns were soon resolved. The first line out went to the Saints, and Mark Vian predictably rose above to secure it. A minute later the first scrum of the game occurred and it translated into a penalty against St Austell. Perhaps a reason to worry, but a couple of minutes later the St Austell pack, With Matt Boothby getting his first start of the season at Tight Head, and all perhaps jaded from the long journey, finally ‘got off the bus’ and the second scrum was firm and stable, which it pretty much continued to be for the whole game.

Play was a little frantic and remaining mid-park until a penalty for holding on gave Matt Shepherd an opportunity to kick St Austell deep into the Sherborne twenty-two. The line out was won by Vian and the drive began. As the Saints crossed the try line, despite Sherborne’s best efforts, Miles Davey was the man at the back to get the ball down for the game’s first try. Shepherd followed up with the conversion. 0-7.

Sherborne then tried to get into their stride. Their handling at times was sublime, their main aim apparently to get the ball into either wing’s hands, to set them free. Several times they pushed deep into Saints territory, but mistakes allowed the St Austell to clear their lines.

Another Saints maul, still a distance out, had the potential to eventually threaten the Sherborne line, when the referee blew up for being pulled down. It was too tempting for Shepherd not to take three points, and he did. 0-10.

Moving into the second quarter, Sherborne continue to demonstrate their intent of moving it wide and it finally pays off as No.11 Marcus Heath finds some space and glides over to score. No.15 Tom Cuff adds the conversion and Sherborne have now shown St Austell what they are capable of. 7-10.

With seven minutes of the first half left on the clock, Cuff chooses to try and level things up after a Saints infringement, but his penalty attempt strays wide. The Saints handling error rate is picking up despite it being a day you would normally expect better returns in that area, then a sublime demonstration of running and dummying from Chris Ashwin made Sherborne hearts sink. Ashwin received the ball 40m out and picked a line that presented him with a chance to dummy the otherwise impressive Sherborne hooker. He then flat-footed another before presenting the full back with the impossible task of covering off the runner and multiple options he had either side of him in support, Shepherd slotted the conversion. 7-17 and half time.

Five minutes into the second half and the Saints attempt a catch and drive close to the Sherborne line. The maul slows but it has drawn the Sherborne players in, and scrum half CJ Boyce has noticed this. He takes the ball down the blindside, draws his tackler in before popping out to unopposed winger Dan Tyrrell who has a simple task to dot the ball down. Shepherd hits the post making the score 7-22.

The chase for the fourth bonus-point try was largely thwarted by a Sherborne side whose confidence had been building throughout the game. Approximately 30 minutes of the second half were played in the Saints half, and a deal of that in the Saints twenty-two. Only exceptional defence and discipline at the breakdown from the Saints kept Sherborne out. As the clock wound down, it was difficult to see where a breakout back into Sherborne real-estate was going to come from. A Tom Daniel yellow card in the third quarter for offside increased the effect of being bogged down.

Finally, a penalty to Saints got play back into the opposition half, with scrums becoming prevalent for handling errors. In the final minute, the ball was in Saints hands and being spun out to a glaring overlap on the left. Dan Tyrrell was the final man on the wing and would surely score, when the official blew his whistle to stop play for an injured Sherborne player on the other side of the pitch. A few seconds after the whistle blew, he was up on one knee and thankfully ok but the attack was negated, the bonus point lost and full time was blown.

Saints take 2 wins from the first 2 games of the season, sit atop the league along with Wellington and Crediton on 9 points, and look forward to welcoming Teignmouth to Tregorrick next Saturday with a 3pm KO.

Other stuff…
The best way to enjoy a Saints home fixture is to start it off attending one of our pre-match lunches! You can find out when they are on and how to book by clicking HERE

Next Saturday, when we welcome Teignmouth to Tregorrick, Frosties Ruck ‘n’ maul bar and food emporium will be open. Cans of alcoholic and soft drinks, plus loads of delicious hot food (burgers, cheesy chips, hot dogs etc) will be affordably available. Make sure you arrive hungry and make a visit!