League leaders St Austell saw off Bude in a fiercely competitive Cornish derby to cement their position at the top of the table. The eight try victory means the Saints’ now only need one more win to be crowned champions and confirm their promotion to South West One. They did not have it all their own way as Bude made the hosts work hard for every single point scored. Four tries in either half including a hat trick for live wire scrum half Matt Shepherd ensured all five points on offer stayed at Tregorrick.

Any fears that the match would fall victim to the horrendous rain experienced 48 hours earlier were soon dispelled. The sterling efforts of the supporters club ensured all standing water was removed by Friday afternoon and come match day the pitch was in fine fettle. Urged on by a large crowd the Saints started well but were finding the Bude defence a tough nut to crack. The pressure finally told in the 15th minute when number 8 Adam Kellow crashed over for a converted try after good work by the Saints back line. The visitors hit back and quick line out ball created the space for fly-half Dan Pearce, Bude’s stand out player on the day, to jink his way under the posts. Pearce’s conversion levelled the scores and Bude tails were up and it was the home side’s turn to man the barricades. The Saints held firm and a penalty set up a line out just outside the Bude 22. The ball was moved through three phases before lock Mark Vian dived over to score his first senior try marking a memorable debut start for the youngster. The Saints pack were now starting to hit the groove and after several quick phases the ball was spun wide for winger Marcus McCoan. The flyer was just held up short of the line but Shepherd was on hand to scoop up the ball and burrow his way over the line. Pearce pulled 3 points back for Bude after the Saints were penalised for crossing at the restart. The respite was all too brief for the Seasiders though when the Saints hit straight back with full back Sam Tank accelerating through to make the half time score 26-10.

Any plans that Bude had for a second half comeback were ripped up when the kick off failed to go 10m. From the resulting scrum Kellow fed Shepherd who scorched away leaving the Bude defence in his jetstream to score in the corner. Bude remained dogged in defence but there was nothing they could do to stop Kellow’s charge from the base of a 5m scrum. With Shepherd off for a deserved rest, it was skipper Andy Ashwin who converted to extend the Saints’ lead to 38-10. On the hour mark Director of Rugby Steve Murley rang the changes to try some different combinations. Shepherd came back to replace Ashwin at fly half while McCoan continue in the scrum half berth. The youngster’s quick metronomic passing at 9 was causing Bude all manner of problems and it was not long before Shepherd danced through a gap to grab his hat trick. James Earp rounded off a superb team try to make the final score 48-10.

Bideford’s surprise defeat at lowly Tavistock means that the Saints are now 12 points clear of their nearest rivals with 3 more league games remaining. The Saints travel to Plymouth on 6th April to take on 4th placed Devonport Services who have an excellent home record. Next week of course the Saints make the long journey to Sussex to take on the Brighton Blues in the semi-final of the RFU’s National Intermediate Cup. For the winners there is the mouth-watering prospect of a cup final appearance at Twickenham on 4th May 2013. The Saints go into the game as underdogs but are determined to give a good account of themselves and grab the opportunity to tread the hallowed turf at rugby HQ.

Match Stats:

St Austell: Rowe; Grigg; Martin; Pearce; McNally; Kellow; Winterbottom; Jeffs; Shepherd; Ashwin (Captain); Welland; Earp; Venner; McCoan; Tank
Replacements: Hughes, Vian, Rhodes

St Austell:
Tries – Kellow (15, 51); Vian (30); Shepherd (35, 41, 63); Tank (38); Earp (69)
Cons – Shepherd (3); Ashwin (1)
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Bude:
Tries – Pearce (20)
Cons – Pearce
Pens – Pearce
Drop Goal –

Yellow Cards:
St Austell: None
Bude: None

Red Cards
St Austell: None
Bude: None

Referee: Mr A Robinson (Cornwall RRS)
Saints Man of the Match: Jack Grigg