Falmouth Eagles 1XV v Hayle

Rugby fans had their money’s worth at the Recreation Ground on Saturday as the Falmouth Eagles delivered a 90-point thriller, followed by close international games shown in the clubhouse, writes Jon Baglow.

The home side came out on top after scoring nine tries, though there were moments when onlookers feared the match might slip away.

The Eagles struck early with a powerful driving maul off a lineout, which was bundled over by captain Alex Bullock. Ethan Williams added the conversion, bringing the score to 7-0. The Lions quickly responded with a well-struck penalty kick, cutting the Eagles’ lead to 7-3.

Falmouth pressed on with their dominant maul, this time driving an impressive 20 metres through a weakened Lions defence, allowing Olly Jones to crash over. Williams added the conversion, taking the score to 14-3. Hayle, however, did not back down, with their right winger slicing through Falmouth’s back line off a lineout to narrow the score to 14-10.

Williams nudged the Eagles further ahead with a penalty, and a crafty blindside play shortly after allowed Jones to power over for his second try of the game. Williams couldn’t convert, and Falmouth led 22-10 at the break.

Shortly after the interval, player-coach Tom Spiller broke through Hayle’s defence off the back of a lineout, extending Falmouth’s lead to 29-10. Then came a moment of individual brilliance from Harvey Penhallurick, who picked up a loose ball on Falmouth’s 22-metre line and, to everyone’s surprise, outpaced the Lions for 70 metres to score, securing the bonus point. Williams added the conversion, taking the lead to what seemed a safe 36-10.

The Lions then mounted a spirited comeback, exploiting lapses in Falmouth’s defensive discipline. First, their right winger crossed the line, followed quickly by a well-executed try straight from the kickoff. Hayle added one of the conversions, narrowing Falmouth’s lead to 36-22.

Falmouth rallied, with Penhallurick showing quick feet in Hayle’s 22 to set up Williams for a try. However, Hayle hit back with a quick pick-and-go under the posts, and the gap closed again. With tension rising, Hayle capitalised on a bouncing ball to score another try, bringing the score to within five points at 41-36.

With their lead dangerously close, Falmouth found another gear. A brilliant passing play saw Cam Bullock break through Hayle’s defence and link up with Fraser Lyne, who was consistently sharp throughout the match. Lyne offloaded to Ali Harding on the left wing, who showed blistering pace before finding Dave Burroughs, who charged in from 20 metres to score a critical try for the Eagles. Williams converted, stretching the score to 48-36.

The Eagles sealed their victory with the final play of the match, a beautiful link-up down the left wing as Spiller passed to Harding, who offloaded to Bullock to go over in what was the best play of the game. Williams added the conversion, capping off an exhilarating 55-36 win for Falmouth.

This win keeps Falmouth firmly in fourth place in the league, now just two points off second. The match also saw Ethan Williams secure his place as the league’s top points scorer, with an impressive 79 points across nine games. The Eagles have a week off before travelling to Liskeard on the 30th. Meanwhile, The Eagles 2XV will be at away to Camborne School of Mines this weekend – kick-off at 2:30 pm.