Team for Tavistock

Forwards unchanged

Head coach, Paul Thirlby, has announced his team for the match at Tavistock tomorrow. Since it is his birthday he will be hoping that the recent away form will be maintained. This will be vital if The Hakes are to continue to apply pressure to rivals Bude and Withycombe. Both these sides have easy away fixtures against Newquay and Hayle respectively, so both are expected to get bonus point wins.

Full Cornwall & Devon fixture list for week 17

St Ives field the same set of forwards as for the last couple of matches. The front row of Jenkins, Taylor and Tompsett had a good test last week and are playing really well as a unit. The Prisk brothers continue to produce a solid second row. Heath, Bone and Lawrance have twenty four tries between them. Forwards coach, Louis Stevens, will be hoping for some control at the back of the scrum together with a more direct line of running to facilitate back row support.

On the bench, Louis Stevens is joined by Sean Stevens and the latest signing; Stuart 'Mill' Milliner, previously of Truro, Redruth and Camborne, is a front row man who can play prop or hooker. His importance to the St Ives squad is clear. Tony Stevens will not be available, especially when he his disciplinary result comes through after being sent off last week. Meanwhile, an injury at work to young hooker Joel Stevens, renders him sidelined for a number of weeks. The club takes this opportunity to wish him a speedy and complete recovery.

Jason Jackson continues at scrum half. He certainly played his part last week against Falmouth. This week he is partnered at half back by Grant Thirlby, whose brother, Paul, moves to centre as Tom Nicholas is on duty for the Fire Service. Tom has played excellent rugby in recent weeks. Greg Loydall returns for the other centre berth, which is a big plus. Nathan Allen is unavailable so Tom Murray gets another start on the wing. Bobby Conroy-Smith with a try per game average and Lewis Thomas, with nine tries from sixteen appearances, complete the squad.

St Ives travel to Tavistock confident that they have the ability to win well. However, in the back of their minds will be the home fixture when Tavy were able to firstly frustrate The Hakes, secondly cause poor discipline to have three in the sin bin and, finally, out score the home side by 14 points to 12 in the second half. St Ives have progressed massively since then. This is the opportunity to prove it and give Paul Thirlby a birthday present he deserves.

The full squad is:

Jess Tompsett

Ben Taylor

Ben Jenkins

Jamie Prisk

Todd Prisk

Sam Heath

Cameron Bone

Martyn Lawrance

Jason Jackson

Grant Thirlby

Tom Murray

Greg Loydall

Paul Thirlby

Bobby Conroy-Smith

Lewis Thomas

Replacements:

Louis Stevens

Sean Stevens

Stuart Milliner