Sat 14 Oct 2023
The CABs faced another derby game, at the weekend and this time it was the first Cornish one of the season, as opposed to the Tamar derby. St Austell were the hosts on a sunny October day and a pretty healthy crowd was on hand to see an excellent advert for Tier 5 rugby. The CABs went into the game with the key question; was their super start to the season a result of a fortunate fixture list or are they in a fair place? For St Austell it was about whether they'd acclimatised enough, over the first five games, and keep their recent strong showing going. The outcome suggested that the CABs are going to be in that top half of the table, whilst St Austell will be scrapping around the bottom half (but with enough quality and depth to maintain a Tier 5 status come the end of the season).
The CABs started off down the hill, with a slight cross breeze in their favour, and immediately there was a clear purpose to their play, both in attack and defence. As expected St Austell tried running out of their 22, but the CABs showed why their defence is one of the best in the league and the play was snubbed out just before the 10m line. From there, the CABs set about showing what they could do in attack with Cam Fogden particularly prominent. A Dan Pearce early penalty put the CABs ahead, but St Austell responded with a catch & drive (unfortunately the ref was facing the wrong way to see a clear double pump, by the hooker) lineout and Matt Shepherd added the extras. But, as has been a common theme this season, the CABs hit back almost immediately and a flowing phase of attack ended with Ben Bryant going over in the corner. Pearce missed the extras to leave it 7-8. Both teams were settling into their natural games and it was beginning to look like it was going to be a real thriller, however it was also becoming apparent that the extra years of playing at this level was just starting to show; the CABs set piece was a little more solid (especially at kick-off), their defence was also controlling the St Austell attack a touch better, their discipline was excellent (three penalties all game!) and their scrum was also starting to gain the upper hand. Another excellent attack, started by Fogden again, enabled Lloyd Duke to pick up from the unattended blind side of a ruck and scored unopposed and Pearce added the 2 points to make it 7-15 after 25 mins.
The CABs were now in full flow and another score, at this moment, would really have tested St Austell's resolve. Both the CABs pack and backs were driving hard into the St Austell defence and pulling them around, then came the key moment that St Austell needed. An attack, deep in the home side 22 saw James Tucker try a little grubber kick through. The ball ricocheted off a St Austell foot, into the arms of right wing Dan Tyrell (somewhat fortuitously as he was in front and in an offside place). However, there was nothing lucky about his dash up the line and he eventually had enough legs to score a good breakaway try and bring the game back to 12-15. The game was now very much in the balance, with St Austell now coming back into their own, and the CABs just starting to get dragged into a scrappy game management and ball-handling phase. St Austell ended the half with 14 men, with No.10 Ashwin was yellow carded for a high tackle.
Half-time and a score at 12-15, with St Austell playing down their favoured slope and it was properly game on. The focus, at half-time was to minimise the handling errors and make sure that the back three were well supported for any territory based game that St Austell may employ. The one area where the CABs were now dominant was at scrum time and in the second half, this became a real Achilles Heel for the home side with every scrum becoming a penalty to the CABs. This enabled the CABs to control the ball and territory. The CABs lineout had worked out the best system to supply the ball to Coles, Fogden and Tucker and it was very much a case of the difference in league position being played out. A yellow card, for a St Austell prop, for yet another scrum infringement resulted in a lineout drive and Ethan Pearce Cowley on hand to power through several St Austell defenders to score under the posts. 12-22 to the CABs and now the driving, direct play was really becoming emphatic; allied with St Austell becoming more and more desperate and ill-disciplined meant the CABs were sniffing the extra points. It duly came from a 5m scrum and Brandon Rowley going over untouched and extend the CABs lead to 12-27. St Austell were further hampered by Ashwin receiving his second yellow, for a high tackle, and leaving the home side down to 14 men. It was now a case of how much further punishment the CABs could inflict going into the final 15 minutes and soon Tom Bottoms added the fifth try to make it 12-34. Injuries in the front pack handicapped the CABs for the last 10 minutes, with Ollie Bebbington having to scrum on the flank and the only score to come was a Kyle Marriott 5m penalty to leave the final scoreline 19-34.
So, the CABs bounced back from their Tamar derby to consolidate their place in the top 2 and ready themselves for their biggest test, of the season, a home game against the mightily impressive Barnstaple.
