St Austell returned emptied handed from Ivybridge in a game that had a promised an upset at half time only for the hosts to power away in the second period. The search for points to secure safety is proving hard in a highly competitive league and in truth a trip to the second placed side was always going to be a tough assignment. As so often the case this season the Saints were the proverbial curate’s egg; good in parts but never quite doing enough to grab the win. The visitors were never out classed against the high flying Devon side and will consider themselves unlucky not to have gained a consolatory bonus point.

The Saints kicked off into the light, chilly breeze on a pitch that had a good covering of grass but was heavy in several places and showing signs of wear and tear. The Bridgers had the best of the opening exchanges scoring two unconverted tries out on the flanks. The first was by winger Tom Scoles and the second by athletic lock Elliot Worrall, the early signs were looking ominous for the visitors. To their credit the Saints dug deep and started to retain possession to deliver a series of probing attacks in the Ivy half. Winger James Martin went close after scything through the home back line and his midfield partner Alex Welland was held up over the line. The pressure eventually delivered some reward with an Andy Ashwin penalty in front of the posts to make the score 10 – 3 after 28 minutes. Soon after winger Ben Chenoweth split the home defence only to be tackled just short of the line, from the resulting forward drives prop Mark Martin emerged with the ball triumphant, a fine conversion by Andy Ashwin made the scores all square.
Ivybridge took the lead again with a penalty in front of the Saints posts before some excellent handling led to a crash ball on the Ivy 22 to Paul Winterbottom, on for the injured Adam Kellow. The flanker left three defenders flapping at fresh air as he scorched through under the posts, with the simple conversion Saints went in at half time leading 17 – 13.
Right from the start of the second half Ivybridge showed their determination not to be rolled over by a side several places below them in the league. A sustained period of pressure on the visitors’ line stretched the defence with the ball going wide for a try for winger Max Snowden, converted by fly half Matt Grieveson. This was probably the period that tipped the scales towards the home side as soon after a penalty kicked to the corner led to a well-controlled catch and drive and an unconverted try for the forwards. Saints were now without skipper Miles Davey who had been sin binned by London referee Charlie Hodder for illegal play in the ruck. Saints’ hopes briefly flickered when Dan Pearce nipped in for a try. However Ivybridge were in no mood to let the spoils slip from their grasp and sealed victory with a Lewis Patterson try. Matt Griveson added a late penalty to leave the visitors empty handed with a score line of 33 – 22.
There is no game next weekend so the Saints have two weeks to lick their wounds ahead of what has become a pivotal clash with fellow strugglers Matson. The match is pretty much a “must win” affair for both sides if either are to mount a charge to safety. The loser faces the prospect of being cut adrift from the mid-table pack. The Gloucester side are renowned for their no-nonsense approach and so this will not be a game for the faint hearted! (Saturday 21 February 2015 2:30 kick off)

Match Stats:

St Austell:
1 Hugh Noott; 2 Miles Davey (Capt); 3 Mark Martin; 4 Rob Jeffs; 5 Adam Pearce; 6 Jack Grigg; 7 Ian Venner; 8 Adam Kellow; 9 Andy Ashwin; 10 Liam Freeman; 11 James Martin; 12 Callum Wilson; 13 Alex Welland; 14 Ben Chenoweth; 15 Dan Pearce
Reps:
Paul Winterbottom; Peter Rowe; Darren Pellow

St Austell:
Tries – Mark Martin (32); Paul Winterbottom (36); Dan Pearce (65)
Cons – Andy Ashwin (2)
Pens – Andy Ashwin
Drop Goal –

Ivybridge:
Tries – Tom Scoles (6); Elliot Worrall (12); Snowden; Worrall; Lewis Patterson
Cons – Matt Griveson
Pens – Matt Griveson (2)
Drop Goal –

Yellow Cards:
St Austell: Miles Davey (56); Hugh Noott (77)
Ivybridge: Lewis Patterson (77)

Red Cards:
St Austell: None
Ivybridge: None

Referee: Mr Charlie Hodder (London RRS)