It was the Saints’ first ever visit to Everest Road, reputedly named after the incline on the Old Pats’ pitch, and the Cheltenham Club proved to be welcoming and hospitable hosts in the finest traditions of rugby.

The Saints were given first use of the strong wind blowing straight down the considerable slope but got off to a sluggish start. The home side made the early running with the visitors forced into a tough defensive set that kept physio Alex Williams busy. Running repairs were required for winger Alex Welland and flanker Adam Kellow after some hefty collisions. Prop Brandon Haque rolled an ankle and fly-half Chris Ashwin was struggling with a leg injury adding to the concerns in the dugout. With Alex working her magic the Saints began to settle and after 10 minutes gained their first score with prop Charlie Nicholson finishing off a route one lineout catch and drive (0-5). Good work from the forwards created the platform for full back Matt Shepherd to scorch through the line (0-10). Saints were now controlling play, but Old Pats remained committed and resilient in defence. It needed an astute cross field kick from Chris Ashwin to find Alex Welland in space on the right touchline. The winger caught the ball on the bounce before finishing near the posts. Matt Shepherd was struggling to harness the strong wind with his previous attempts at the extras, but he had no issue with the conversion (0-17). Saints were forced into their first change after 25 minutes with Brandon Haque succumbing to his twisted ankle after battling through the first quarter. With Rory Jago on, Saints continued to apply the pressure and it was Matt Shepherd’s dazzling footwork that saw him jink over under the post like a Strictly contestant to secure the bonus point (0-24). Old Pats responded well but were undone by a brilliant counterattack, Matt Shepherd broke out of the Saints’ 22 taking the ball up to halfway where Number eight Kyle Marriott was on hand to take it into the opposition half. Prop Charlie Nicholson ran hard in support to take the pass and lead the surge into the Old Pats’ 22 where he popped the ball up to scrum half CJ Boyce to finish a superb team try (0-29). Deep into time added on, the mercurial Chris Ashwin threaded a grubber kick through the eye of the rushing Old Pats’ defence to enable Alex Welland to claim his second try of the afternoon. Remarkably there was still time to restart, and the half eventually finished after 54 minutes with the Saints 34-0 in front.

The Saints rang the changes at half-time by placing Chris Ashwin in cotton wool to bring on Dan Tyrrell at scrum half with CJ Boyce shifting across to fly-half. Kyle Marriott was replaced by Cam Taylor to give a new look to the back row. Any hopes Old Pats had that the slope and the elements would provide them some respite in the second half were soon dispelled. A barnstorming run from Adam Kellow set up a ruck deep in the home 22 and neat interplay between Matt Shepherd and CJ Boyce allowed the latter to dive over for his second try (0-41). A lineout steal by the Gorran Lighthouse Mark Vian created the momentum for the backs to push the ball through the hands with centre Konnor Ewudzi showing a clean pair of heals out wide to touchdown (0-46). Cavan Boyer was almost in for a spectacular try only for the move to be pulled back for a forward pass. It was a frustrating day for the wingman who endured a hattrick of near misses due to the final pass not going to hand. A blistering break by Dan Tyrrell took him to within touching distance of the try line with defenders bearing down. The scrum half’s deft pass to the supporting Matt Shepherd gave the full back the easiest of touchdowns to secure his hattrick (0-51). Old Pats refused to give up and rallied superbly in the final ten minutes as they went in search of a consolation score. They found the Saints as determined in defence as they had been in attack and despite some prolonged pressure in the visitors’ 22 they could not find a way through.

After a run of five long away trips since the end of November, which has seen the Saints clock up over 1800 miles, they can now pack away their passports, maps and compasses for a while. The Saints are not due to cross the Tamar into England until 26th March 2022, in fact six of their remaining eight league games are at home. Next week attentions turn to the Cornwall County Cup with the Saints travelling up the Atlantic Highway to take on Bude (KO 2:00pm Saturday 05/02/2022). The North Cornwall side are going great guns in the Cornwall and Devon League and have an impressive home record so the Saints will need to be focused to ensure they are not the victims of a cup upset.

Saints Star Man: Adam Kellow – an all-action display from the Saints flanker that created the platform and space for several of the scores by the flyers outside him.

1 Brandon Haque; 2 Miles Davey (Capt.); 3 Charlie Nicholson; 4 Mark Vian; 5 Tony Knight; 6 Adam Kellow; 7 Andy Inch; 8 Kyle Marriott; 9 CJ Boyce; 10 Chris Ashwin; 11 Alex Welland; 12 Ben Plummer 13 Konnor Ewudzi; 14 Cavan Boyer; 15 Matt Shepherd
Reps (All used):
Rory Jago; Cam Taylor; Dan Tyrrell

St Austell:
Tries – Charlie Nicholson (10); Matt Shepherd (13, 27, 65); Alex Welland (20, 40+6); CJ Boyce (30, 42); Konnor Ewudzi (57)
Cons –
Pens – Matt Shepherd (20, 27, 42)
Drop Goal –

Old Patesians:
Tries –
Cons –
Pens –
Drop Goal –

Yellow Cards:
St Austell:
Old Patesians:

Red Cards:
St Austell: None
Old Patesians: None