ST AUSTELL 19 - CREDITON 19

OUR third successive top four battle on Saturday, March 23 ended all square and on the face of it a decent result. However, it has to be said there was disappointment amongst the players that we did not come away with maximum points.

The fact that we were ahead 19-5 going into the last quarter having done all the hard work in the first half playing up the slope, made the final result even more disappointing.

St Austell too, felt that perhaps they should have won, having gained the momentum in that final quarter to level things up they had an opportunity to take the spoils.

The general feeling was that we were not helped by some less than generous refereeing by a match official who seemed to be intimidated by the crowd as they bayed for a forward pass which clearly wasn’t and prevented what would have been the bonus point try.

Several other incidents certainly did not go our way, something acknowledged by the home support post match. As it turned out it was yet another nail-biter which seems to be how our games go at the business end of each season.

The result, combined with a draw for Wellington at Wadebridge and a win for Sidmouth against Falmouth, means we have slipped back to second but still only six points separate the top four with 15 points to play for.

As to the game itself we botched a couple of chances early in the game but eventually fly-half Ollie Avery-Wright got the first try and his conversion narrowly missed its mark. However, he landed the conversion to add the extras to a Jason Luff try shortly before the interval.

The home side reduced the arrears early in the second half with a try but we extended the lead with a Dan Yendell try from a driving maul which Avery-Wright converted.

That seemed to be the signal for a home revival as they dominated the final quarter. Our defence was again outstanding but eventually the pressure told and the Saints squared things up with two tries and a conversion.

The home game against Tiverton tomorrow, Saturday, March 30, has even greater significance than simply being a local derby as we look to maintain our challenge for a top two place and also give us a chance of home advantage in the Intermediate Cup against Sidmouth although that will require Sidmouth dropping a couple of points at least in their remaining two games against Kingsbridge and Paignton.

Tivvy have hit some form with a thumping win against relegation strugglers Chard and will certainly be up for the challenge especially as they will look to avoid conceding the “double”!

There is nothing worse for the Tivvy boys than to lose at home and away to Kirton!

CREDITON QUINS 17 - TEIGNMOUTH 2NDS 32

The ‘Quins put up a valiant effort against a strong and experienced Teignmouth Second Fifteen and but for a 10-minute spell, when we lost our way a bit and the visitors grabbed three tries, the outcome could have been very different.

Teignmouth dominated the early stages but we managed to take the lead midway through the first half.

A clearance was well gathered by full-back Sam Ronchetti and he made good ground before offloading to winger Sam Harris who went through several defenders down the left touchline to score in the corner.

Teignmouth hit back with three tries in quick succession to reach the interval 17-5 ahead.

The second half saw the ‘Quins battle back with a try from prop Rob Leach who was driven over by his co forwards, Tom Ronchetti converting.

A converted try and a penalty from the visitors took the game away from us but Leach did respond with an opportunist try from close in to bring the score to 17-27.

An unconverted try at the end secured the win for Teignmouth although we did squeeze a losing bonus point from the game.

TORQUAY COLTS 21 - CREDITON COLTS 24

A try hat-trick from hooker Callum Yeandle plus a try from Joseph Crocker and two Owen Cooper conversions were enough to see off the challenge from Torquay.

The result ensured the Colts ended the Group stage of the competition undefeated, indeed the only points “dropped” were from two unplayed games that were awarded as draws.

They finished top of the group and will meet Tavistock in the semi-final tomorrow at 1pm. The game will be played as a curtain raiser to the First Fifteen game against Tiverton.

It would be unwise to take Tavistock lightly as despite finishing fourth, they have provided the stiffest opposition during the group stage with only nine points separating the two sides over the two games.

Finally, congratulations to our neighbours and friends at North Tawton who became Devon League One Champions and earned promotion to the Cornwall and Devon League for next season. A tremendous achievement.

Paul Harris