Hakes Beaten by Bude
Bude 20 v 17 St Ives
Last Saturday the St Ives 1st XV travelled to the team placed 2nd in the Cornwall & Devon league, Bude, in their latest match. The squad travelled with a strong side very similar to the one that won last time out against Devon side Plymouth Argaum. The only changes were Cameron Bone coming in to replace the unavailable Neil Corin at flanker, Louis Stevens starting in the second row and Nathan Allen returning to the wing.
The game was played with a strong wind coming down the length of the pitch; St Ives won the toss and elected to play with the wind in the first half. The Hakes had the first chance of points when they were awarded a penalty just inside the Bude half, with the wind assisting a kick for the posts was selected but the chance went begging when the kick fell just short.
It was Bude who took the first points of the match when following a mistake at a breakdown their winger Ollie Denford grabbed the ball and the opportunity to break clear of the St Ives defence to score a try underneath the posts which was duly converted to give the Bude side a precious 7 points to nil lead against the run of play after 9 minutes.
The home side were encouraged by their score and now began to make life difficult for the Hakes despite playing into the gale of wind. With their confidence beginning to grow they began to pressurise the St Ives pack at the scrum and in the 22nd minute they spread the ball wide to their right for their winger Tim Green to dive into the corner to score their second try of the match. This time the difficult conversion was missed, but crucially Bude now had a lead of 12 points to nil.
Despite their best efforts and with the wind assistance St Ives were unable to pin Bude back in their own half. Their only points of the half came from another long range penalty confidently kicked by Grant Thirlby in the 30th minute of the half to make the score 12 – 3.
With the pressure on the St Ives scrum mounting, in the 34th minute the referee penalised the St Ives front row and awarded Bude a penalty which was successfully kicked by their full back Dan Pearce to extend their lead to 15 points to 3. There was no further score in the first period. As the sides turned around at half time it must have been Bude that were more confident of securing the victory.
The second half began with the home side achieving just what St Ives had not in the first half, at every opportunity they pinned the Hakes back into their own territory with the wind assisting their kicking game. The signs were ominous for St Ives and this was only confirmed when in the 44th minute Bude’s Duncan Tout crossed in the corner for the home sides 3rd try of the match to put them in control at 20 points to 3.
Yellow Card Expensive
The game then took a twist in the 58th minute. The Bude number 8 was shown a yellow card reducing the home side to 14 men, the Hakes then asserted themselves and despite the headwind began to pressurise the home side at the set piece. In the 58th minute pressure was converted into points with a well worked try for Cameron Bone. The conversion was added by Grant Thirlby and the Hakes now had a glimmer of hope with the score Bude 20, St Ives 10.
Buoyed by their success the St Ives players continued to assert their numerical advantage over their opposition. In the 67th minute a well worked try was taken for the second time by flanker Bone. The conversion was confidently kicked once again by Thirlby to set up a thrilling finale to the match with St Ives now only trailing by three points with the score 20 points to 17.
With the home side now returned to the full complement of players they managed to stem the flow of St Ives attacks. In the last few minutes the Hakes looked more likely to score the winning try of the match, but in the end they were beaten by the clock which saw the home side hold out for the win at the final whistle by an unchanged score line of 20 points to 17.
Despite the defeat the St Ives players secured an important losing bonus point and when the season winds up next April this could be precious.
The Hakes are back in action this coming Saturday with an away trip in the league to local rivals Pirates Amateurs, kick-off at the Mennaye is scheduled for 2:30pm. Any travelling support will be very welcome. A supporters bus is available, thanks to sponsor St Ives Bus Company.
St Ives : Jess Tompsett, Ben Taylor (Captain), Ben Jenkins, Louis Stevens, Jamie Hoskin, Sam Heath, Cameron Bone, Martyn Lawrance, Sam Carter, Paul Thirlby, Peter Mabbott, Grant Thirlby, Tom Nicholas, Nathan Allen, Lewis Thomas.
Replacements : Jamie Prisk (Used), Ben Wheeler, Dave Bramwell (Used).
