Hakes Dominate Paignton
St Ives 38 v 3 Paignton
Last Saturday saw St Ives welcome Devon side Paignton RFC to Alexandra Road for their first home game of the new season in the Tribute Cornwall & Devon League.
Head coach Paul Thirlby made a few changes from last weekend’s victory over Plymstock Albion Oaks with David Bramwell coming in to replace injured flanker Sam Heath, Club Captain Ben Taylor returned at hooker with young Joel Stevens moving on to the bench, with Grant Thirlby un-available for this game in came Sam Bristow to make his full debut alongside Tom Nicholas in the centre with Nathan Allen and Peter Mabbott moving out on to the wings.
The game began well for the Hakes who had most of the early play pressurising the Paignton line well with some good combinations of play from both the forwards and backs, the deadlock remained however until the 11th minute when second row Jamie Prisk crossed the try line following some good handling in the back line which gave the scoring opportunity to the forwards in front of the posts, full back Lewis Thomas added the extra’s to give the St Ives a 7 – 0 lead.
Only four minutes later the Hakes extended their lead when right wing Peter Mabbott showed good strength to go over in the corner, the conversion was missed this time but St Ives now lead by 12 points to nil.
As the play continued it looked as though it was only a matter of time before the dominant home side scored again but the game entered a scrappy phase which St Ives were still dominating but were unable to convert their pressure into points, as the half wore on they were guilty of trying to force the issue a little too much which lead to errors that prevented them from adding to their score.
The visitors were having their own problems and did not really threaten the St Ives try line at all during the first half, in the 37th minute the St Ives players broke out of their own half and the ball was worked into the arms of Tom Nicholas who intelligently kicked the ball into space in the Paignton half, left wing Nathan Allen set of in pursuit and showed electric pace but the kick was just too strong and just beat the speedy winger before he was able to gather the ball and score.
The referee blew the half time whistle with the score unchanged at 12 points to nil in St Ives favour, the second half would see St Ives play into the wind against the visitors who were now beginning to get desperate to get a score.
The second half was barely a minute old when the Hakes broke through the visitor’s defence again, this time debutant Sam Bristow dotted down between the sticks giving Thomas an easy conversion chance which he gladly accepted to put the Hakes 19 points to nil up.
Fantastic Try
With it now beginning to become clear that the St Ives players were in no mood to relinquish their hold on the game, and in the very next attack on the Paignton line left wing Nathan Allen cleverly chipped the ball over the last defender and re-gathered to score a fantastic try in the corner in front of the clubhouse much to the delight of the home crowd, the conversion was missed this time but St Ives were now in control at 24 points to nil.
Three minutes later the visitors finally got some points on the board; they were awarded a penalty in front of the St Ives posts for offside and duly kicked the points to give the visitors a glimmer of hope at 24 points to 3.
The Hakes continued to dominate proceedings with their scrum looking particularly effective which gave the backs a good platform to work off, the score remained unchanged until the 76th minute when centre Tom Nicholas threw a long pass into the arms of Nathan Allen on the left wing who proceeded to outpace the Paignton defence and score a fine individual try for his second score of the match, this time Thomas kicked the conversion to put the game beyond doubt at 31 points to 3.
With the clock running down it was the St Ives players who had the final say of the match in the 79th minute when back row Neil Corin broke through the home defence and beat the Paignton full back to score the final try of the match between the posts in front of the clubhouse, Thomas once again kicked the conversion to complete the scoring with the Hakes recording their second victory of the season by 38 points to 3.
Following the game the St Ives Director of Rugby Joff Rowe commented; ‘ I am delighted with the win, there are still several areas of our game which need development but I was really pleased with the attitude and commitment shown by the players, congratulations to Jamie Prisk on his performance and to Nathan Allen on his brilliant individual try.’
The Hakes are back in action this coming Saturday in the Tribute Cornwall & Devon League with a long away trip to Devon side Honiton, kick off is scheduled for 3:00PM, any travelling support will be very welcome.
St Ives : Jess Tompsett, Ben Taylor (Captain), Ben Jenkins, Jamie Prisk, Harry Parton, David Bramwell, Neil Corin, Martyn Lawrance, Jason Jackson, Paul Thirlby, Nathan Allen, Sam Bristow, Tom Nicholas, Peter Mabbott, Lewis Thomas.
Replacements: Ben Wheeler, Tom Chandler, Joel Stevens. (All Used)
