St Austell were moments away from announcing their unveiling on the Regional 1 stage with a hard-fought win only for Brixham to snatch a draw with last kick of the game. While the Saints were crestfallen at the final of whistle of a pulsating and exciting game, they can be proud of their efforts. The Cornishmen overcame a nervy start that saw them fall 10-0 behind after just 10 minutes to fight back and at times they dominated the team that finished third last season to lead 34-20 with six minutes remaining. Brixham showed just how tough this league will be as they stirred themselves for a final charge to score two converted tries to make it honours even.

The Saints crossed the Tamar in optimistic mood for their ever game at Level Five and first competitive game at Astley Park. The match kicked off under clear blue skies with temperatures in the mid-20s and it was home side who made the early running. Fly-half Joel Ashworth stroked over an early penalty and the Fishermen were rewarded after some patient probing play when scrum-half Jamie Hext scampered through a hole in the Saints defence to put the home side 10-0 after ten minutes.

Fears that the Saints were suffering from a bad dose of stage fright were soon dispelled when CJ Boyce spread the ball wide from a scrum in the shadow of the stand just outside the home 22. Full back Archies Bees timed his run into the line with precision, drew two defenders before offloading to Dan Tyrrell. The pocket battleship of a winger tore down the flank to finish off a superb move (10-5). With Saints’ nerves settled, it became an intriguing contest with both sides looking good with the ball in hand and strong in defence. Dan Tyrrell was almost in again when a turnover allowed the Saints to counterattack only to be hauled down just 15m out. The visitors now had a foothold in the home 22, and with an advantage called following a collapsed maul the ball was released along the backline. Dan Tyrrell finished in the corner evading the despairing attention of the home defence to tie the scores up (10-10).

The Saints were now on top and from a scrum in the 22, fly-half Matt Shepherd feigned a pass to the wing, with the Brixham drifting across to prevent a hattrick for Dan Tyrrell, the No. 10 stepped inside to put the visitors in front (10-17). Brixham stirred to apply the pressure, but the Saints defence held firm to keep the lead at the interval.

The second half got off to a cagey start but all that changed on 47 minutes when Archie Bees added yet another contender to his burgeoning scrapbook of brilliant tries. Matt Shepherd stripped the ball from Brixham in midfield just inside Saints territory. In a flash, the ball was shifted to the Saints full-back who stepped inside a prop who found himself in the wrong place at the wrong time. With open field in front of him, Archie Bees glided to the posts seemingly able to shift up the gears whenever a Fisherman appeared on the horizon (10-24). The Saints were now on top, flanker Rhys Daniel was fingertips away from adding to the try count and winger Max Bullen was stopped just short of the whitewash.

A turnover saw Brixham launch winger Matthew Crosscombe who burst onto the ball on the home 22 to run the length of field in an exhibition of pace and power to score in the corner (15-24). Brixham tails were now back up and when winger Ricky Workman scored in the same corner it really felt that the momentum had returned to the home side (20-24). The Saints proved their resilience to weather the storm, Matt Shepherd added three points after Brixham infringed to prevent Max Bullen a sniff of the line (20-27). With ten minutes remaining centre Ben Plummer showed great determination to carry the ball over for the Saints’ fifth try of the afternoon (20-34).

Back came Brixham and left centre Robert Wigginton took a perfect line from a scrum move to put the home side back in the game with five minutes remaining (27-34). With time almost up the Saints were penalised for crawling forward on the floor, the visitors felt harshly treated with the feeling it had more to do with Brixham hands pulling the prone player backwards rather than any attempt to gain forward momentum. The Saints repelled the catch and drive from the resulting lineout, but Brixham kept the ball alive to enable Robert Wigginton to stride over with another fine finish. Deep into time added on Joel Ashworth added the extras to tie the scores at 34-34.

In the immediate aftermath there is no doubt it felt like a defeat, but as heartrates returned to normal there was a growing realisation that this was significant first step for the Saints. It was a performance to be proud of with the Saints going toe to toe with the team that finished third in the league last season. The Cornishmen dominated for long periods and scored some nice tries, but some valuable lessons were also learned. Teams at this level do not lie down and have the firepower, skill and fitness to hit back at any time.

Next Saturday sees the Saints host their first home game of the season with the visit of Chew Valley RFC travelling down from South of Bristol (Kick-Off 3pm on Saturday 9th September 2023).

Saints Star Man: Another good team performance, Cornwall U20 hooker Pete Harris, Prop Dan Job and flanker Rhys Daniel all caught the eye in the pack. Scrum-half CJ Boyce ran the game well while full back Archie Bees was a Rolls Royce in attack and Sherman in defence. Man of the Match went to Dan Tyrrell, with a brace of brilliant tries he was an attacking thorn in the Brixham defence all afternoon.

Saints
1 Dan Job; 2 Pete Harris; 3 Charlie Nicholson; 4 Mark Vian (Captain); 5 Tom Daniel; 6 Rhys Daniel; 7 Alex Welland; 8 Kyle Marriott; 9 CJ Boyce; 10 Matt Shepherd; 11 Dan Tyrrell; 12 Ben Plummer; 13 Sam Parsons; 14 Max Bullen; 15 Archie Bees

Reps (All used):
Jake Clifford; Matt Boothby; Fraser Nottle

St Austell:
Tries – Dan Tyrrell (13, 25); Matt Shepherd (32); Archie Bees (47); Ben Plummer (69)
Cons – Matt Shepherd (33, 48, 70)
Pens - Matt Shepherd (62)

Brixham:
Tries – Jamie Hext (10); Matthew Crosscombe (53); Ricky Workman (58); Robert Wigginton (74; 80+2)
Cons – Joel Ashworth (11, 75, 80+3)
Pens – Joel Ashworth (3)