Falmouth Eagles 25 - St Just 10

Falmouth Eagles continued their winning start to the Counties 2 Cornwall League with a hard-fought 25-10 victory over St Just on Saturday, writes Jon Baglow. 

After a tight start, Falmouth were eventually able to overpower their West Cornwall opponents on a warm afternoon at the Recreation Ground.

The visitors struck early, with their forwards powering over the try line just five minutes into the game. A successful conversion followed from the visitors’ full-back, giving St Just a 7-0 lead. Falmouth, however, responded midway through the half when Bertie Duncan crossed the line out wide on 25 minutes. The conversion was missed, leaving the score at 7-5.

Nearing the end of the half, Penhallurick darted in with a second try to give Falmouth their first lead of the match at 10-7 before the half-time whistle was blown.

A nasty injury brought an extended break in play, with a St Just forward going down with a neck injury. Fortunately, some new Falmouth recruits working at Treliske Hospital were on hand to offer support to the casualty before the ambulance arrived.

As play resumed, Falmouth were able to instantly capitalise on a lapse in the opposition’s concentration. Clever play from the Bullock brothers, who linked up at number 8 and scrum-half, opened up the left side of the pitch for winger Ali Harding, who was able to dot down. Penhallurick again sent the ball wide of the uprights.

A crucial moment for St Just came when their full-back missed an in-range penalty, which would have brought them back to within two points. Falmouth made them pay for this, with Penhallurick scoring a second from open play, followed by replacement kicker Ethan Williams’ successful conversion to stretch the lead to 22-10.

As the clock ticked down, Williams added a long-range penalty to put the game beyond doubt, leaving the scoreline at 25-10.

Falmouth will be pleased with their second consecutive bonus-point victory and now share the top of the table with Saltash. They will turn their focus to next Saturday’s away fixture against Bodmin as they look to keep their undefeated run alive.