Showing five changes from the side that turned out at Devonport Services last week Saints were expecting a tough time against one of the traditional powerhouses of Cornish rugby. That is exactly what they got with St Ives dominating the first quarter placing huge pressure on the Saints line. Desperate defence, last ditch tackles and one magnificent turnover by flanker Paul Winterbottom kept St Ives out. Number 8 Ryan Evans, making his league debut for Saints after finally escaping the clutches of the physiotherapist following his recovery from a preseason injury, was shown the yellow card for straying offside once too often. St Ives sniffed blood but the Saints’ “magnificent seven” held out against two intense 5m scrums to clear the ball without the Hakes getting on the scoreboard. The game settled into a battle of attrition in the midfield and with St Ives having the edge in the set pieces starving the Saints’ back line of quality ball. The potential was there for all to see when a series of patient probing runs gave St Austell a platform in the visitor’s half for the first time in the game with 26 minutes gone. A penalty awarded for offside allowed fly half Matt Shepherd, on his first game back since returning from Redruth, to step up and take 3 points to nudge Saints in front. The game finally burst into life with first Saints and then the visitors going close but neither side could add to the score.

The second half looked destined to follow the same pattern as the first half with St Ives determined to keep the game bogged down in a forward battle. A scrum infringement allowed Jamie Prisk to fire over an equalising penalty 3 minutes into the second forty. The game however exploded into life 5 minutes later when a long kick ahead by St Ives was expertly fielded by winger Ben Chenoweth in the Saints 22m. Linking up with full back Treve Murley the ball moved quickly to Welland and centre Ian Venner to turn the St Ives defence for the first time in the game. Venner kicked ahead but was late tackled and smart thinking by fellow centre James Earp enabled him to crash over from a quickly taken tap penalty. Shepherd converted to put Saints back in front. Saints struck again from the restart when young prop Josh Durant caught the ball and drove hard into the heart of the St Ives defence. With defenders seeming to bounce off him Durant crossed the halfway line before laying the ball off. Saints moved the ball quickly and looked to have scored when Winterbottom crossed the line but was held up. The respite for St Ives was all too brief with Saints recycling the ball to allow tight head Hugh Noott to score against the team he represented last season. Shepherd again added the extras to finally put some real breathing space between the sides. Second row Adam Pearce, again a power house for Saints, emulated his younger team mate with a bullocking run to again split the Hakes’ defensive line. Quick ball out to Chenoweth saw him just hauled back short of the line but St Ives were now struggling to contain the Saints. A yellow card for St Ives centre Dan Bassett for another late tackle on Venner gave Saints the edge. Flanker Sean Haren, on for Evans, broke from the back of a line out on the 10m line to feed Winterbottom who tore through ragged tackling to touch down under the posts. Shepherd ensured the formality of the extra two points to make it 24-3. Five minutes later Haren struck again this time stealing St Ives line out ball to feed Chenoweth coming in off his wing on a scything diagonal run only to be denied by a despairing tap tackle just short of the line. Venner was on hand to take the pop pass to score with Shepherd again converting. With the large crowd celebrating in the sunshine St Ives hit back for a consolation try taking full advantage of poor Saints concentration at the restart. The ball moved to number 8 Neil Corin who was able to skip through the Saints defence. Corin, who had been a thorn in the Saints’ side all afternoon, became involved in confrontation with Winterbottom which led to the Saints’ flanker being shown red. In the confusion that followed it was almost missed that Prisk failed with his conversion attempt.

The game finished without further incident with Saints’ running out convincing winners in the end. With three ex-Hakes in the Saints’ ranks adding some extra spice this was always going to be a tough encounter. Saints showed resilience and patience in a dogged first half performance but looked the more rounded side once the spaces started to appear in the final third of the game. With the ball in hand Saints are an exciting outfit and it took a determined performance by the Saints’ forwards to eventually deliver the platform to score four tries after weathering the initial St Ives storm. After five games Saints sit in 4th place with the best points difference in the league and are clearly looking upwards.

Match Stats:

St Austell: Noott, Grigg (Hughes 50), Durant, Black, Pearce (Williams 75), Jeffs, Winterbottom, Evans (Haren 60), Ashwin (Captain), Shepherd, Chenoweth, Earp, Venner, Welland, Murley – Replacements Haren, Hughes, Williams

St Austell: Tries – Earp (48); Noott (51); Winterbottom (65); Venner (70)
Cons – Shepherd (4)
Pens - Shepherd

St Ives: Tries – Corin (73)
Cons –
Pens – Prisk (43)

Yellow Cards: St Austell: Evans (9) St Ives: Bassett (63)

Red Cards St Austell: Winterbottom (73) St Ives: None

Referee: Mr Zerren Bell (Devon RS)

Saints Man of the Match: Adam Pearce