Borough hold their nerve

A LEAGUE victory has been a long time coming and it was all the sweeter for that, and, whilst Penryn are by no means safe from relegation a glimmer of hope lies at the end of the tunnel following the 24 points to 19 victory over St Mary's Old Boys.

The very wet and windy conditions were not as bad as on the previous week's visit to The Mennaye Field, and the pitch was in far better condition, thanks to the efforts of some willing volunteers.

Conditions were far from ideal, but on balance the home side made the best of the conditions, winning by three goals (converted tries) and a drop goal to two goals and one try.

The visitors came with three regulars missing from the side, but Penryn were also weakened from the side selected, as Chris Mann and Kiniviliame Naivalulevu had to withdraw because of work commitments. Syd Savvas was also unavailable whilst props John Court and Dan Kirk are still on the injured list, and Ed Lawrence had gone down with flu.

In spite of this the Borough forwards more than matched their bigger and more experienced eight, with Richard Burns moving to prop with Richard Tresidder, and Matt Tarby replacing Richard at hooker.

During the first quarter it was all Penryn. The first score came after seven minutes when, after a forward drive, Will Paine went over in the corner. Ian Morgan had no difficulty with the conversion and the Borough were up and running.

It was all Borough at this stage, but after 21 minutes, and as so often happens, St Mary's broke out from the iron grip that was Penryn. There were a couple of defensive errors, and visiting centre Adam Hobbs scored from a threes movement. Full back Franco van der Merwe converted and the visitors were back in the game.

From loose forward play near the half way line Lewis Webb emerged with the ball, ran 30 yards, passed to Ian Morgan, just before he was tackled, and Ian, showing that his maturity had not yet reached his legs, completed the distance to the goal line to score what was one of Penryn's finest tries this season.

The conversion put the home side ahead, but two minutes later, just on the half hour St Mary's right wing Chris Randall scored their second try.

As was to turn out later in the game, the missed conversion was a gift, and left Penryn with only a two point lead at half time.

Five minutes in to the second half van der Merwe, with a try and his own conversion put St Mary's in the lead for the first time and it remained that way for the next 15 minutes, and it began to look as though the Borough would again go down.

However, the warriors on the field were having none of that. Penryn continued to exert relentless pressure on the visitors, who in turn defended stoutly, and occasionally broke clear to threaten the home line.

After an hour they took the game to the visiting 22 and from a lineout the ball came back on the visitors side, but lock Toby Freeman, launched himself towards a brilliant interception, and with the ball in hand ran 20 yards to give Ian Morgan an easy conversion.

Two brilliant tries in one game was more than Penryn's supporters dared hope for, but with only a two point lead the last quarter was bound to be exciting.

And so it turned out, with St Mary's desperate to score and Penryn desperate to hold out. With the game as tense as ever the home forwards took the game up field and were camped on the visiting goal line for several minutes. At one stage it looked as though the pack had achieved a push over try, but the referee decided otherwise; and then, as the pressure on the St Mary's line was as strong as ever, the ball came back from a five yard scrum, and Ian Morgan dropped a goal that put Penryn five points ahead, and a win most likely.

St Mary's, knowing that only a goal would give them a win, took several short penalties, and almost broke through on one occasion when the Borough were saved by defensive cover.

The referee added about six minutes of injury time, but eventually the final whistle was blown and the Borough ran out worthy winners by 24 points to 19. It was close, exciting, and did justice to two clubs who remain bastions of the amateur game.

Full credit to referee Chris Hailey of Redruth, for his timely and sensible control of the game. In the bar after wards he was at great pains to explain his decisions to each side.

On the home team front every player was totally committed and the side are to be congratulated on their tenacity and dedication. Every player, including the subs that came on, tackled, defended and played his heart out.

I am not a believer of "man of the match" awards because rugby is a team game, and even the best player in the world cannot win a game without the other 14, but mention must be made of Lewis Webb and Andrew Seviour who combined well at half back, whilst Charlie Ross had probably his best game since joining Penryn; Ian Morgan's place kicking was instrumental in the total points tally, in particular the superb drop goal in the 70th minute.

The Borough showed the spirit of Cornwall's oldest rugby club is again rising from the ashes. It was not quite like the wonderful days of the 70's, but it was rugby worthy of the Borough's finest traditions.

Penryn: Ian Morgan, Will Paine, Charlie Ross, Peter Webster, Josh Chambers, Andrew Seviour, Lewis Webb, Richard Burns, Matt Tarby, Richard Tresidder, Toby Freeman, Chris Cole, Darryl Foster, Chris Johnson, Steve Bucknall. Reps: Gareth Wills, Justin Hocking, Paul Bannister.