Wiveliscombe 8 St Austell 27. Saturday 28th September 2019 at the Recreation Ground.

By Ian Grantham

Off the back of three wins from three in the new season the Saints travelled to Wiveliscombe in Somerset. Wiveliscombe only lost 3 of their 24 league fixtures whilst winning the Somerset Premier Leagues last season to secure a place in Western Counties West. The Saints never travel without packing a healthy amount of respect along with their boots for any of their opponents and this trip would be no different.

The Recreation Ground harbours a considerable drop from left to right as you sit in the compact stand and also a slope towards you. It’s one of those pitches where as a visiting player, you expect the home side to know how to get best of the grounds various characteristics but actually this did not come to pass. Wiveliscombe choose to play down the hill in the first half and due to its features you could tell the trick was to keep any deficit facilitated by the advantage of the ground to a minimum as the second half would turn the tables.

St Austell started the game which then stopped and started a number of times as the referee stamped his authority on the game often at the expense of the Saints progress. Within 2 minutes Wiveliscombe were awarded a kickable penalty which became more achievable after being punished by another 10 yards. Sam Gibbs made the kick to move the scoreboard to 3-0 to Wiveliscombe.

The conversation topic on the touchline was that of cards and the potential for the imminent awarding of one to a St Austell player should the trend for referee interventions continue. At 10’ and on cue Josh Philips received a yellow for holding on to the ball in the ruck. With Saints down to 14 this seemed to encourage them to up the tempo, especially No.8 Adam Kellow who started to make progress down the middle through the grasping attempts of the opposition’s defensive line. It was noticed that Wiveliscombe were very narrow, leaving the Saints back line often staring at huge gaps and the distant try line. At 13’ the ball was spun wide to Max Bullen who progressed to the Wiv 10 metre line before offloading to Cav Boyer who grub kicked the ball through for Frazer Nottle to chase and dot down. An exciting move that woke up the travelling supporters completed by a decent conversion by Boyer. Wiv 3 St Saints 7.

Wiv came back, using the incline and a heavier pack to their advantage and Saints struggled to vacate their twenty-two. The pressure told at 25’ as Wiv passed the ball neatly to the left wing where No. 15 Jake Sharland scooted outside the Saints stretched cover to score. The difficult conversion was missed by Sam Gibbs. Wiv 8 Saints 7.

Saints gathered themselves and despite the hill, worked their way up the pitch and camped around the Wiv 10m line. Edging closer all the time the forwards decided to go route one, Adam Kellow as the ball carrier helped by Captain Miles Davey crashed over the line to restore the Saints lead with Boyer adding the conversion. Wiv 8 Saints 14 and this remained the same at Half Time.

The second half got underway and the Saints had the hill in their favour. You could tell that with tiring legs, this was the right direction to be playing in and it was going to be telling for Wiveliscombe. Andy Inch received a blow to the face at the kickoff which took him temporarily out of action and Mark Vian was nursing some painful ribs but the Saints marched on. A clean catch by Vian at 47’ led to quick hands to Bullen who would surely score but he fumbled and the crowd sat down again. Ben Plummer then received a painful elbow injury and walked off, arm supported by his shirt and suddenly Head Coach Kyle Marriott’s eyes surveyed a bench that was increasingly under strain to keep fifthteen fit players on the pitch.

At 54’ Adam Kellow, after some sustained Saints pressure, stretched to place the ball over the line and a somewhat controversial call from the referee of a knock on denied him his second. Five minutes later it was all forgotten as the Saints, again camped close to the Wiv line, took a clean line out catch and scored via the ensuing successful drive through Prop Pete Rowe. Wiv 8 Saints 19. Cam Taylor picked up a shoulder injury that forced him off and the now flatter-nosed Andy Inch came back on.

In the 69’ came the try of the match. Scrum Half CJ Boyce made one of his characteristic darting breaks through the middle, moving the Saints from the half way line to the Wiv twenty-two. Boyce was tracked down but still able to pop to Fly Half Henry Welch who carried it to the 5m line before offloading to Prop Michael Shakespear to finish the move off with a wonderful try. Boyer missed the conversion but that was the important try bonus point secured. Wiv 8 Saints 24.

Wiveliscombe upped the work rate as they felt the game slipping away but the response was ragged and unorganised. Saints tackled tirelessly and a head injury to Harry Pyatt brought Pete Rowe back into the fray. One more score occurred at 35’ through Cav Boyer who kicked a penalty making the score 8-27 and this was the score when the referee called time a few minutes later.

An intriguing afternoon’s rugby and a further demonstration of the Saints squad depth as they secured an away bonus point win without no.10 shirt regular Chris Ashwin, Lock Tony Knight or player Coach Kyle Marriott being available. An exciting squad to be part of and in this early season one that can cope admirably with player unavailability and injury.