St Austell secured a bonus point victory at Okehampton in a highly entertaining encounter at the Showfield that had spectators from both sides chewing their finger nails right to the final whistle. A topsy-turvy first 20 minutes saw five tries scored as the lead changed hands several times before the game settled into the tight contest that many were expecting. Saints had the edge in the loose and their fast flowing back line meant that the narrow victory over a home side who never gave up was just about deserved.

Saints kicked off down the slope and the high tempo start had the home side struggling from the outset. Panic in the Okes defence led to an offside in the first half but scrum half Matt Shepherd was unable to take advantage with the penalty. The screw was kept firmly tightened and when flanker Rob Jeffs stole a loose ball it was left to fly-half Andy Ashwin to grab the first score. The Skipper opened his legs and showed his class as he purred through a gap in the home defence for an unconverted try. All the hard work was undone in an instant, as Okes took full advantage of Saints’ hesitation when receiving the kick off to work the ball into the Clubhouse corner. With the Saints pack under pressure Referee Ian Freestone was quick to award the penalty try which fly-half Carl Poynton duly converted. Back came Saints and driving play from the forwards sucked in the home defence before releasing strong running centre James Earp. His clever offload was superbly gathered by Jeffs who dotted down under the posts, Shepherd converted to restore the Saints’ led. Minutes later Okes were level when a long kick ahead was fumbled by the Saints defence allowing the chasing flanker Simon Cox to score an unconverted try in the corner. Saints roared back and after a period of sustained pressure Earp burst through the gain line before passing to flanker Paul Winterbottom who cruised over for Saints’ third try to put the Cornishmen back in front. Saints continued to threaten but resolute defending prevented any further score and the first half closed with the visitors 17-12 in front.

Okes started the second half with real purpose and Poynton reduced the deficit with a 30m penalty when Saints strayed offside. The pressure was building on the visitors but the Saints defence was holding firm. It took a jinking run by centre Gareth Espin to break the shield and feed winger Rob Fellows to score, Poynton’s conversion put the Okes 22-12 ahead with 54 minutes gone. The game settled into an absorbing midfield battle with Saints slowly beginning to edge the territory and possession. Twice Saints looked to have scored, first when centre Ian Venner broke free of the cover only to be pulled back for a knock-on while gathering the ball. Then with 10 minutes remaining the Saints’ forwards rumbled to within sight of the try line only to lose control of the ball at the crucial point. Finally the breakthrough came when quick thinking by Shepherd spotted a gap at a 5m scrum to slide in under the posts. The scrum-half’s conversion put the Saints back in front with 5 minutes remaining. The finale was a tense affair with both sides knowing a penalty for Okes would win the game. Saints’ were resolute and disciplined in defence and Venner’s crucial steal of the ball from Okes attackers ensured the match was won.

The win maintains Saints unbeaten start to the season and their position at the top of the table. What is intriguing is that they have yet to perform at their best but have still managed to amass 19 points from a possible 20. The players and coaches will be working hard to build on the potential that has been evident in patches to deliver a more rounded performance. The next challenge is Penryn’s visit to Tregorrick (KO 3pm Saturday 29 September 2012) who after a shaky start have now hit some form.

Match Stats:

St Austell: Gibbons; Grigg; Martin; Pearce; Haley; Jeffs; Winterbottom; Howorth; Shepherd; Ashwin (Captain); Rhodes; Earp; Venner; Welland; Murley
Replacements (All used) Taylor; Hughes; Rowe

St Austell:
Tries – Ashwin (4); Jeffs (10); Winterbottom (20); Shepherd (74)
Cons – Shepherd (2)
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Okehampton:
Tries – Penalty Try (8); Cox (13); Fellows (54)
Cons – Poynton (2)
Pens – Poynton

Yellow Cards: St Austell: None Okehampton: None
Red Cards St Austell: None Okehampton: None

Referee: Ian Freestone (Devon RRS)

Saints Man of the Match: Rob Jeffs