The Falmouth Eagles travelled to St Austell on Saturday and came away with a convincing 7-26 victory over the Sinners. Falmouth arrived at Tregorrick Road sitting in fourth place in the league and used the win to stay within a bonus-point victory of second place, writes Jon Baglow.
Before the game began, there was a minute of silence in observance of Remembrance Sunday, with time to reflect on the 14 members of Falmouth Rugby Club who lost their lives in WWII.
The Eagles opened the scoring soon after the first whistle, taking advantage of a high tackle by Sinners’ veteran prop Hugh Noott.
Caretaker-captain Andrew Searle opted for a kick at the posts, and Ethan Williams coolly slotted his first of the day from 30 metres. The hosts went on to concede another six penalties in the opening ten minutes, and Williams made the game look like his personal warm-up drill.
Falmouth had pulled ahead to 12-0 after 15 minutes, despite not actually stepping foot in the opposition’s 22-metre area.
Although Falmouth looked more dangerous in midfield, the Sinners finally found some rhythm around the 20-minute mark.
A well-executed lineout drive ended with Noott making amends by crashing over the line from close range. The successful conversion closed the gap to 12-7, bringing the game back into balance.
Falmouth, undeterred, continued to apply pressure, and their patience paid off when player-coach Tom Spiller took a quick tap from five metres out and powered his way over the line. Williams once again added the conversion, extending Falmouth’s lead to 19-7.
The Eagles nearly added to their tally when left-wing Ali Harding made a brilliant 40-metre run, only to be stopped just short of the line. The subsequent play led to a line-out near St Austell’s line, where the home side’s frustrations boiled over.
Noott, back in the referee’s bad books, received a yellow card for collapsing the maul, leaving St Austell temporarily down to 14 men with 12 minutes left to play.
Falmouth capitalised on the advantage, with Fraiser Lyne breaking off the back of the maul to touch down. Williams added the conversion, bringing the score to 26-7.
Tensions rose as the clock wound down, but the Eagles were able to see off the home side. Falmouth will go on to play Hayle next week at home. Kick-off is at 2:30 pm at The Recreation Ground.
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