Pirates Amateurs Take the Spoils

St Ives 14 : 20 Pirates Amateurs

The Hakes put in a strong performance but came up short against Pirates Amateurs in a tight contest at Alexandra Road.

St Ives started brightly, with solid go-forward ball and smart tactical kicking from veteran fly-half Thirlby and centre Dan Rhys-Evans. The early pressure was rewarded with a simple penalty, and Thirlby slotted it to put the Hakes 3-0 ahead.

However, the Ams capitalised on the Hakes’ discipline issues, converting three penalties in front of the posts to take a 9-3 lead. The Hakes responded with a monster penalty kick from Thirlby, 40 metres out and near the touchline, reducing the gap to 9-6.

Discipline continued to trouble the Hakes, allowing Pirates Ams to convert another penalty right in front of the posts. St Ives fought back once more with a Thirlby penalty that clipped the post before going over. But just before half-time, the Ams executed a well-worked training ground move to score a try, stretching their lead to 9-17 at the break.

Shortly after the restart, scrum-half James Marsden produced a moment of magic. Picking up the ball from a scrappy lineout on halfway, Marsden handed off four defenders and finished a spectacular solo try, one of the best seen at Alexandra Road in years. Unfortunately, the touchline conversion was missed, leaving the score at 14-17.

Pirates Ams added another easy penalty to make it 14-20, and despite the Hakes’ best efforts, the scoreline remained unchanged until the final whistle.

Hard luck to the Hakes and congratulations to the Pirates Ams on their victory. St Ives will be looking to regroup and bounce back next week as they head to Barnstaple, aiming to return to winning ways.