By Paul Hayes

REGIONAL ONE SHIELD POOL FOUR

Tring 21 St Austell 25

ST AUSTELL kept their hopes alive of reaching the semi-finals after a superb performance in Hertfordshire.

The Saints could have been forgiven for crossing the Tamar with a degree of trepidation when they started the long 300-mile trek on Friday evening. 

Injuries and unavailability meant the Saints were without several key players and lacked a full bench of replacements. 

Four youngsters were drafted in to make their first team debuts, Hector Bright was to make his first start of 2024 and the evergreen Tate Richardson brought some much-needed experience. 

The Saints started the game at a high tempo, and with Tring were being stretched to the edge, veteran lock Antony Knight took full advantage to thunder through a glaring gap in the middle of the home defence (0-7). 

An infringement at the restart allowed Tring scrum-half Ben Hogan to slot over a long-range penalty to temporarily soothe home nerves (3-7), but the Saints continued to dominate the breakdown with Hector Bright tormenting the Tring defence with pace, skill and muscle. 

CJ Boyce’s slick offload to Hector was a thing of beauty and the Saints openside powered through six Tring defenders to score a magnificent try (3-12). 

The home side started to use their large pack to stem the tide and two Hogan penalties kept them in touch with the half-hour mark approaching. 

The Saints were still a threat and Cornwall U20s hooker Peter Harris almost went over from a neat lineout move. The ball was kept alive, and the ever-alert CJ Boyce sniped over to make the half-time score 3-17.

The Saints started the second half determined to retain control of the game forcing Tring to giveaway a succession of penalties. There was nothing they could do in the face of a well-drilled catch and drive finished in style by number eight Kayden Michael (3-22). 

Pete Harris was removed from the fray and wrapped up in cotton wool ahead of the Cornwall U20 game against Somerset on Sunday with promising 18-year-old Henry Blackshire coming on for his senior debut. 

Fellow Colt team-mate Arthur Fletcher, who had shone on the wing, almost made it a dream debut as he sprinted around the Tring full-back with the try line beckoning. Delight amongst the Saints’ travelling support was cut short as the referee stopped play to deal with an altercation in midfield. The penalty awarded seemed scant recompense for the try being chalked off. 

The Saints brought on youngsters George Oakley and Tom Spry for their first taste of level five rugby and at the other end of the spectrum was Tate Richardson. Answering the call to provide some much-needed experience to a young squad, Tate made his last Saints appearance in 2013. Having made his Saints debut in 1999, Tate attained the remarkable achievement of appearing in each of the last four decades for the Saints. 

Two late Tring tries skewed the scoreline but failed to take the gloss of what was an emphatic victory. The players celebrated with the travelling support who had made the long journey up-Country and backed the Saints to the hilt.

However, following Lydney’s withdrawal, Saints’ semi-final fate, and whether they play again this season, now relies on Tring beating Old Northamptonians on Saturday.

ST AUSTELL: Chris Ashwin, Arthur Fletcher, Jamie Stanlake, Ben Plummer (capt), Dan Tyrrell, Archie Bees, CJ Boyce; Matt Boothby, Miles Davey, Scott Pearce, Antony Knight, Joe Maunder, Pete Harris, Hector Bright, Kayden Michael. Replacements: George Oakley, Tom Spry, Tate Richardson, Henry Blackshire.

Tries: Knight, Bright, Boyce, Michael; Convs: Bees; Pens: Bees.

St Austell man of the match: Hector Bright.