Teignmouth 5 St Austell 62

Paul Hayes reports

St Austell stayed top of the table with a 10-try victory which earned an 11th try scoring bonus and set them up nicely for their last game of 2022 at Wellington this Saturday (2.30pm).

There were two tries each for Fraser Nottle, Konnor Ewudzi and Cavan Boyer, with others coming from Chris Ashwin, Mark Vian, CJ Boyce and Matt Shepherd, who also kicked six conversions.

The overnight icy blasts caused some early morning concerns, but these were soon dispelled at a remarkably sun-kissed Bitton Park.

Teignmouth were committed in defence but found it hard going once the Saints found their rhythm after a tight opening quarter.

Five first half tries were more a sign of clinical finishing than the Saints’ dominance; the second period was a different story, however, with the visitors in the ascendancy to add five more.

The opening exchanges were frenetic with both sides being penalised twice each for ‘holding-on’ to thwart attacks in promising positions.

The Saints were first to adapt to the referee’s management of the contact area and a probing attack saw full-back Shepherd cut back against the grain of the home side’s drift defence to open the scoring.

Teignmouth hit back and a poor chase from a clearance kick was punished by a searing run from full-back Daniel Force. Scrambling defence left gaps out wide and an astute crossfield kick by fly-half Rio Cooper allowed winger Aidan Fisher to touch down.

A turnover by Cam Taylor sent centre Ewudzi roaring up field. The forwards secured the bridgehead in the Teign 22, and Ashwin added the guile with a glorious side-step as the fly-half slipped in under the posts.

The balance of territory and possession was beginning to tilt in the favour of the Cornishmen as the game entered the last 10 minutes of the first period. The Saints ran a move from a scrum on the home 22 on the stand-side, left winger Dan Tyrrell popped up in the outside channel and looped a long pass to his right-wing partner.

Nottle still had work to do, demonstrating skill, pace, strength and bravery to slide in at the riverside corner despite the attentions of three defenders.

From another solid scrum platform, Ashwin sent a sumptuous pass out to Ewudzi, who deployed the afterburners to arc around the defence and dot down in the corner; Shepherd landed the touchline conversion to celebrate the collection of the Saints’ 11th try bonus point in 13 games.

With half-time looming Ashwin spotted a mismatch out wide to spin a pass to skipper Mark Vian, who powered over with three home backs unable to contain the Gorran Lighthouse once he had the whiff of the try-line in his nostrils.

Any hopes the home side had of wrestling back the initiative from the Saints in the second half were soon dispelled when a driving maul created the blindside gap for scrumhalf Boyce to scoot over.

Ashwin was again the provider, drilling a pass out wide for Nottle to grab his second of the day.

On the hour Nottle was almost in for his hat-trick, the ball was quickly recycled and with the Teign defence drawn towards the ruck, Shepherd chipped a crossfield kick to give replacement winger Boyer the freedom of Devon to catch and score with his first touch of the game.

Teignmouth showed great fortitude to put the visitors under pressure with 10 minutes left. A lineout 10m from the try-line in front of the clubhouse raised hopes of a consolation score, drawing loud encouragement from a bevy of former players enjoying a reunion lunch.

The Saints, however, found their inner Scrooge and it was number 8 Kyle Marriott who stole the lineout. The backs gambled by playing high risk rugby across the 5m line, but they reaped the rewards when Sam Parsons threw out a superb long pass to Shepherd.

The full back roared out of the 22 before passing to the supporting Ewudzi, who accelerated away from the beleaguered chasing defence, then stepping inside to finish under the posts.

Incredibly he was joined by four support runners in Hector Bright, Sam Parsons, Boyer and Shepherd underlining the commitment and determination coursing through the team.

The try broke Teignmouth hearts as their heads dropped for the first time with the game entering the final minutes.

The Saints ran a series of penalties until the home side ran out of defenders, giving Boyer a simple finish to make the final score 62-5.

Saints Star Man: Chris Ashwin – the Saints’ fly half puppeteer was at his string pulling best to set the Cornish backs on their way to nine tries. Even the one for the forwards stemmed from Chris’ vision and well-timed execution.

The side-step for his own try was an object lesson in creativity and coolness under pressure as he created the space to spot a gap unseen by anyone else at Bitton Park to nonchalantly score under the posts.

Saints: 1 Dan Job; 2 Pete Harris; 3 Charlie Nicholson; 4 Mark Vian (Capt.); 5 Andy Inch; 6 Rob Jeffs; 7 Cam Taylor; 8 Kyle Marriott; 9 CJ Boyce; 10 Chris Ashwin; 11 Dan Tyrrell; 12 Konnor Ewudzi 13 Sam Parsons; 14; Fraser Nottle; 15 Matt Shepherd.

Reps (all used): Matt Boothby; Hector Bright; Cavan Boyer.

St Austell: Tries – Matt Shepherd (9); Chris Ashwin (16); Fraser Nottle (19, 56); Konnor Ewudzi (33, 72); Mark Vian (36); CJ Boyce (46); Cavan Boyer (60, 79).
Conversions – Matt Shepherd (10, 17, 34, 47, 57, 73).

Teignmouth: Try – Aidan Fisher (13).