Hakes Back to Winning Ways
St Ives 57 v 10 Torquay
Last Saturday St Ives welcomed Devon side Torquay to Alexandra Road for their latest Western Counties West league game.
St Ives was keen to put behind them the defeat a fortnight ago at Tiverton and also maintain their unbeaten home record so far this season. Joint head coaches Paul Thirlby and Rob Elloway named a few changes to the side, including Jamie Hoskin who returned to the second row. Grant Thirlby was named at fly half, with Rhys Brownfield moving to the centre and Rob Elloway played at hooker.
St Ives couldn’t have had a better start to the match. They found themselves 7 points to nil ahead after only two minutes thanks to a try from flanker Chris Quick after number 8 Martyn Lawrance had made a fine break. Rhys Brownfield added the conversion.
The Hakes kept up the pressure on the Torquay defence and were soon rewarded again. This time it was a break by flanker Cameron Bone and Martyn Lawrance himself that went over for the 5 points. Again Brownfield added the conversion to put St Ives ahead by 14 points to nil.
It was beginning to become clear that it was going to be a long afternoon for the Torquay players as the St Ives players began to settle into a rhythm. 16 minutes in and this time it was Pete Mabbott who made a break down the left wing to go in for the try. Brownfield once again added the extras to increase the St Ives lead to 21 points without reply.
Soon after scoring the try Mabbott had to leave the field with a blood injury. His replacement was Sam Carter, who took full advantage of his time on the field while Mabbott was being patched up with a try on 24 minutes. No conversion this time, but St Ives had secured the all-important bonus point at 26 points to nil.
With their tails up St Ives looked almost as if they could score at will. In the 36th minute centre Tom Nicholas made a break from inside his own half. Showing excellent pace he carved his way through the Torquay defence to score a fine individual try. Brownfield added the conversion to make the score St Ives 33, Torquay nil.
The remainder of the first half saw Torquay have their best spell of the game. They began to put some pressure on the St Ives defence for the first time in the match and in the 39th minute were rewarded with an unconverted try out wide on their right by Chris Smith despite the linesman having his flag in the air. The try stood and shortly afterwards the referee brought the game to a close with the score St Ives 33, Torquay 5.
The second half began with St Ives back on the attack. When the half was only 5 minutes old the St Ives pack showed its power and drove over the Torquay line allowing Rob Elloway to dot down and score the try. No conversion this time, but the result was now beyond doubt at 38 points to 5.
The next St Ives try came from full back Jacob Ninnes out wide on the right, following some good work from the St Ives back line. No conversion again, but the score had moved on to 43-5.
With St Ives in control of the match the replacements were used and it wasn’t long before one of them made an impact on the match. In the 65th minute Sean Stevens gathered the ball and ran in under the posts to score. The Brownfield conversion saw the Hakes hit the 50 point mark (50-5).
To their credit the Torquay players never gave up and in the 70th minute were rewarded with another unconverted try, this time through James Norrish to make the score St Ives 50, Torquay 10.
In the 77th minute of the match St Ives scored what was probably the try of the match. The move started in the St Ives half and saw the ball moved seamlessly from the forwards through the back line and into the arms of fly half Grant Thirlby who finished off the attack to score underneath the posts. Brownfield added the conversion to set the score at St Ives 57, Torquay 10.
The referee brought the game to a close a few minutes later to seal another St Ives victory. This result sees the Hakes hold a 10 point lead over 2nd placed St Austell in the league table and 12 points ahead of 3rd placed Devonport Services who still hold a game in hand over both the sides above them. However, the Devon side failed at Falmouth by 12:8.
The Hakes are back in action on the 3rd March with an away trip to local rivals Truro. KO is scheduled for 2:30pm any travelling support would be very welcome.
St Ives: Kye Beasley, Rob Elloway, Leigh Hocking, Jamie Hoskin, Jamie Prisk, Cameron Bone, Chris Quick, Martyn Lawrance, Liam Jolly, Grant Thirlby, Pete Mabbott, Rhys Brownfield, Tom Nicholas, Joe Parma, Jacob Ninnes.
Replacements: Ben Jenkins, Sam Carter, Sean Stevens (All Used).
