Penryn Colts 7pts

Penzance & Newlyn Colts 5pts

There was not a great deal going on outdoor sport wise on Saturday last. Being a cup weekend meant there was no league rugby in the Duchy, there was the attraction of the international rugby on television, and the excessive rain in the previous few days ensured that several football games were cancelled or postponed.

But those brave souls who braved the wind and weather to watch Penryn and Pirates Colts in an under 18 Cup game were treated to an exciting, evenly contested competition, with no quarter given on either side.

Each side was unbeaten in this competition, so it promised to be an evenly contested event, and that is how it turned out.

The Borough played with a strong breeze at their backs, but at the start the visitors played well against the elements and looked slightly the better side.

The game switched from end to end, until, in the 10th minute, the Borough forwards took the ball up to the visitors 22. From a maul, scrum half Jacque Seviour broke away passed out to fly half Tarron Peacock who evaded tackle attempts by the Pirates' scrum half and fly half and scored under the posts. He had no difficulty in converting his own try and the Borough were seven points up.

But the Pirates were not going to let this one go easily. For the remainder of the half they dominated a great deal of the play, mainly through their forwards and came close to scoring on several occasions, but Penryn's defence was equally not going to give this one up, and the half ended with only that one score.

With the wind behind them in the second half the casual supporter might have been expected that the visitors would overcome Penryn, but it did not work out like that.

The Borough had the better of that second period, although the game continued to swing from end to end with the result very much in the balance.

The Borough made several changes with Alex Stuthbridge coming on at full back for Travis Ash, whilst Will Dove came in at lock for Eatham Patterson. Unfortunately centre Andrew Seviour had to go off with a hamstring injury, and for a short while the threes were a little disjointed. But they rallied and the team was no weaker for the substitutions.

Then with ten minutes before the final whistle Pirates full back McGee crossed in the left hand corner. The conversion attempt failed and the Borough were still in the lead, albeit only by a meagre two points.

This led to a very tense few minutes, with each side desperate to win. Pirates mounted several attacks, but Penryn's defence was strong and steady. At the other end, the home side's threes, with greater possession from their forwards, showed great skill, but they in turn were frustrated by sound Penzance defence.

At the final whistle the Borough were jubilant.

So who played well for the Borough? Tarron Peacock had an excellent game at fly half, whilst the pack did extremely well against a heavier combination. George Jones had a good game at flanker, whilst hooker Jordan Smith took four scrums against the head, but all of the squad were heroes, every one of them was totally committed to the end.

Summing up, this game did credit to the future of rugby in Cornwall; it was a game that could have gone either way, with two unbeaten teams striving to top their group. In the end the Borough were slightly the better side, particularly playing against the very strong wind in the second half, when their forwards won sufficient ball to give their threes chances to score.

They did not score again, and the game ended with a very narrow win for the home side, but they showed touches of brilliance on several occasions. By contrast Borough's strong defence kept the visitors out in spite of all of the odds.

Penryn now look forward to their last group match against Launceston, and hopefully to a home tie in the quarterfinals.

Although called the CRFU under 18 Knock Out Cup this competition starts on a league basis. The 16 teams entered were divided into two groups of eight, with each team in the group playing the other seven once on a league basis.

Starting in December Penryn, who were drawn in Group B, had previously beaten Falmouth/Helston (A), Bodmin (H), Redruth (A), and Perranporth (H). Unfortunately Saltash had to pull out of the competition. So the Borough, unbeaten so far, now have one more game if they are to win their group. This is at home to Launceston on February 24. If they win that they will go in to the quarterfinal stage as group winners with a game against the fourth placed team in group A.

Finally let it be said that the future of rugby in Penryn looks very secure. The 1st XV will be relegated to Western Counties, but with a wealth of talent coming through, this will give the Borough chance to rebuild. The future looks bright.