Six of the Best for Saints!

Match report by Paul Hayes
Photo by Dave Philips

St Austell 38 Cullompton 12

A dominant first half laid the foundations for a comfortable bonus point win for St Austell. Four tries in the opening half hour left Cullompton reeling, but the visitors were never left wanting in terms of commitment and dug deep to make the second half a far more even affair. Cully kept the marauding Saints down to just two tries after the break and scored a brace of their own either side of the hour mark.

The pitch was unaffected by the heavy overnight rain and a mild afternoon with no wind made for almost perfect conditions for rugby. The home side got off to a blistering start that set the visitors back on their heels. Centre Ben Plummer joined a driving maul with the forwards given him an easy ride to the try line for a score converted by James Tucker (7-0).

A lightening interchange of passes by the Saints’ backs provided the space for centre Sam Parsons to touch down following a deft off load from scrum half Dan Tyrrell (14-0).

The home side were grateful to full back CJ Boyce who showed great awareness to stop a Cully counterattack following an interception that provided a moment of respite for the visitors. The Saints pack were soon on the rumble again and with advantage being played after the maul collapsed, Dan Tyrrell looped a pass over the heads of the Cully defenders for winger Frazer Nottle to dive in at the corner (19-0).

From the restart the home went through the several phases before Frazer Nottle, now popping up on the opposite wing, set up CJ Boyce for the all-important fourth try (26-0).

The Saints started the second half in much the same vein as the first, with a fluid display of running rugby to take play deep into the opposition 22. Dan Tyrrell’s long pass set up Frazer Nottle to score out wide, James Tucker’s touchline conversion spectacularly thundered against the post before dropping in for the extras (33-0).

Cully deserved great credit for not drowning completely in the waves of the home attacks and steadily they built a foothold in the game. A swift exchange of passes amongst the Cully forward following a quick line out created the space for a bullocking run by lock Andrew Hayball (33-7).

The visitors were now enjoying their best spell in the game and gained further reward with a well worked try rounded off in some style by winger Joshua Luxon (33-12).

The Saints roused themselves from the setback with the forwards providing the platform for Dan Tyrrell and Frazer Nottle to combine again with the winger finishing in the corner to complete his hattrick of tries (38-12).

An entertaining game with much to admire and some cracking tries from both sides. A word of mention as well for referee Dan Thurgood, whose excellent management of the breakdown allowed play to flow throughout the contest. The only blight on the Saints’ afternoon was a nasty shoulder injury to young Ashley Gilder on his home debut.

Next week Saints make the long trip to Somerset for the rearranged fixture with second placed Wellington. Both sides are in great form and each have only suffered a single defeat so far this season, so it promises to be a compelling encounter (KO 2:30pm).

1 Mike Shakespear; 2 Miles Davey (Capt.); 3 Mark Martin; 4 Tony Knight; 5 Adam Kellow; 6 Andy Inch; 7 Cameron Taylor; 8 Kyle Marriott; 9 Dan Tyrrell; 10 James Tucker; 11 Fraser Nottle; 12 Ben Plummer 13 Sam Parsons; 14 Max Bullen; 15 CJ Boyce
Reps (All used):
Peter Rowe; Ashley Gilder; Josh Phillips

Saints Star Man: Dan Tyrrell – Making his first home start, Dan was thorn in the Cully side all afternoon. Busy around the breakdown and always willing to snipe through any gap. Dan made the scoring passing for four of the six Saints’ tries.

St Austell:
Tries – Ben Plummer (3); San Parsons (6); Frazer Nottle (24, 46, 61); CJ Boyce (28)
Cons – James Tucker (3, 6, 28, 46)
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Cullompton:
Tries – Andrew Hayball (54); Joshua Luxon (64)
Cons – Ross Oaten (54)
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Yellow Cards:
St Austell: None
Cullompton: Dylan Grogan (32)

Red Cards:
St Austell: None
Cullompton: None