St Austell 48, Bude 10
LEAGUE leaders St Austell saw off Bude in a fiercely competitive Cornish derby and are now just one win away from the Western Counties West title and automatic promotion to South West One West.
Bideford's shock 45-22 defeat at lowly Tavistock, means that the Saints are now 12 points clear of their nearest rivals with just three more league games remaining.
The Saints next league game is on April 6 away to fourth-placed Devonport Services who have an excellent home record.
They then have a home game against second from bottom Exeter Saracens on April 13 before their final league game at bottom club Honiton seven days later.
So barring a massive dip in form promotion is virtually assured after this eight-try victory which made it 12 wins out 12 at Tregorrick Park in the league this season.
But did not have it all their own way as Bude made the hosts work hard for every single point, but our tries in each half, including a hat-trick for livewire scrum-half Matt Shepherd, ensured a maximum five points.
Any fears that the match would fall victim to the horrendous rain experienced 48 hours earlier were soon dispelled. The sterling efforts of the Supporters' Club ensured all standing water was removed by Friday afternoon and come match day the pitch was in fine fettle.
Urged on by a large crowd, the Saints started well but were finding the Bude defence a tough nut to crack.
The pressure finally told in the 15th minute when No8 Adam Kellow crashed over for a converted try after good work by the back line. But the visitors hit back and quick lineout ball created the space for fly-half Dan Pearce, Bude's stand out player on the day, to jink his way under the posts. Pearce's conversion levelled the scores and it was the home side's turn to man the barricades.
But the Saints held firm and a penalty set up a lineout just outside the Bude 22. The ball was moved through three phases before lock Mark Vian dived over to score his first senior try, marking a memorable debut start for the youngster.
The Saints pack were now starting to hit the groove and after several quick phases the ball was spun wide for winger Marcus McCoan.
The flyer was just held up short of the line, but Shepherd was on hand to scoop up the ball and burrow his way over the line. Pearce pulled three points back for Bude after the Saints were penalised for crossing at the restart.
The respite was all too brief for the north coast club though, when the Saints hit straight back with full back Sam Tank accelerating through to make the half time score 26-10.
Any plans that Bude had for a second half comeback were ripped up when the kick off failed to go 10m. From the resulting scrum, Kellow fed Shepherd who scorched away leaving the Bude defence in his wake to score in the corner. Bude remained dogged in defence but there was nothing they could do to stop Kellow's charge from the base of a 5m scrum.
With Shepherd off for a deserved rest, it was skipper Andy Ashwin who converted to extend the Saints' lead to 38-10. On the hour mark Director of Rugby Steve Murley rang the changes to try some different combinations.
Shepherd came back to replace Ashwin at fly half, while McCoan continued in the scrum half berth. The youngster's quick metronomic passing at nine was causing Bude all manner of problems and it was not long before Shepherd danced through a gap to complete his hat-trick. James Earp rounded off a superb team try to make the final score 48-10.
This Saturday, the Saints make the long journey to Sussex to take on the Brighton Blues in the semi-final of the RFU's National Intermediate Cup.
For the winners there is the mouth-watering prospect of a cup final appearance at Twickenham on May 4 (see facing page).
