Victory however was far less emphatic than the 8 tries to 2 score line would suggest and the Saints had to work hard against committed opponents who never gave up. Success was built on the ability to absorb pressure before executing fast and fluid counter attacks that turned defence into attack in often devastating style. Fielding four debutants Saints got off to a dream start with Rob Jeffs finishing off an excellent catch and drive from a line out in the second minute. The Cornish side continued to dominate the early exchanges but failed to turn territory and procession into points with only two missed penalty kicks to show for their efforts. The tide started to turn with Ivybridge starting to retain and move the ball with increasing freedom. Resolute Saints defending kept them out but an increasing penalty count allowed host captain Tommy Newman to nudge Ivybridge in front with 3 penalties. The inevitable yellow card was issued to Saints Flanker Sean Haren for persistent offside in the 35th minute. With Saints now pegged back in their own half Winger Alex Welland fired a huge pressure relieving kick that landed deep into the opposition 22m. With Ivybridge Full Back Tom Scoles focused on shepherding the ball out he did not realise that Welland had sprinted 50m to follow his kick until he dived at the bewildered 15’s feet to score a glorious individual try. The score was met with delight by the large contingent of travelling Saints fans who saw their team reach half time 12-9 ahead.

The second half started with a flurry of tries, Saints struck first with Prop Hugh Noott rounding off good work by the pack. Skipper Andy Ashwin added the conversion but a couple of uncharacteristic missed tackles from the restart allowed Ivybridge Centre Cam Setter in to score their first try. An infringement at the restart provided Saints with a scrum platform on the opposition’s 10m line to launch a well worked move orchestrated by young Fly Half Treve Murley. Quick hands allowed Rhodes to join the back line at pace and burst through to give the Saints a 24-14 lead after 46 minutes. Ivybridge seemed stunned and Saints continue to apply sustained pressure in the opposition 22m. With the forwards dominant Jeffs finished off a series of strong rucks with his second try. From the restart Saints scored the try of the match, moving the ball the length of the field, a miss pass by Murley gave Venner the space to draw the Ivybridge defenders before feeding Ben Chenoweth who raced to the line. Despite these setbacks Ivybridge fought back tenaciously and Saints found themselves on the back foot. The penalty count against Saints clocked up but the 20 point cushion forced Ivybridge to either run or kick to touch. Their efforts were eventually rewarded in the 65th minute when Ivybridge winger Josh Perkin squeezed over. Any thoughts of a comeback were short-lived with Saints pace out wide again prevalent. First man of the match Chenoweth finished another fine team move and then Welland won an exciting race to the line following his astute kick ahead, Ashwin converted.

That should have been that but the game finished on a sour note with an ugly incident completed out of context of a keenly, but fairly, fought contest. Ivybridge Prop Matt Finn took exception to a Saints offside and in the ensuing melee Rhodes ran a full 10m to punch young 2nd Row Dan Jones twice in the face. As the dust settled it soon became obvious that Jones had suffered a serious injury. The referee sin-binned Finn and Saints Flanker Paul Winterbottom, before justly issuing a red card to Rhodes. Everyone at St Austell RFC wishes Dan Jones a quick and full recovery and hope he is back playing again very soon.

Match Stats:
Ivybridge: Adams, Webster, Finn, Jones, Anderton, Bowen, Lamont, Cox, Walker, Martell, Malone, Newman (Captain), Setter, Perkin, Scoles (Williams 45) Reps Not Used: Percival, Porter

St Austell: Noott, Grigg, Martin (Williams 73), Haley, Pearce, Haren (Pill 60), Winterbottom, Jeffs, Ashwin (Captain), Murley, Chenoweth, Earp, Venner (Murphy 65), Welland, Rhodes

Ivybridge: Tries - Setter, Perkin, Pens - Newman (3)

St Austell: Tries - Jeffs (2), Chenoweth (2), Welland (2), Noott, Rhodes Cons - Ashwin (3)

Yellow Cards Ivybridge: Finn (78). St Austell: Haren (35); Winterbottom (78)

Red Cards St Austell: Rhodes (78)

Referee Paddy Dummett (Devon)

Saints Man of the Match: Ben Chenoweth