Penryn 19 Teignmouth 13

... performance against one of the favourites for promotion.

A losing bonus point was some consolation, but the visitors led as the match entered injury time; unfortunately this season has already seen some extended periods of added time in all three matches, and the Teigns were unable to hold out.

Nevertheless the management team and the squad will feel that they have the ability to live with the best in the league given the rub of the green.

Unfortunately the team was hampered by several players being unavailable to travel, and had to withstand everything the Cornishmen threw at them with only one replacement on the bench; this situation was further exacerbated when Rob Parsons was unable to take part in the second half because of a head injury.

There was very little to separate the sides in the first period; the Teigns had an early chance denied them by what looked like a deliberate knock-on, but in general the two packs kept the ball close and engaged in a sixteen-man arm wrestle. Neither side seemed able or willing to release their talented back lines, with the result that after 39 minutes the only score was a Seviour penalty for Penryn.

However, with free-scoring Will Sowden in the centre Teignmouth always have an outlet, and sure enough he took full advantage of his one opportunity to put the visitors in the lead as the first half entered injury time.
Somehow the referee found sufficient stoppage time to allow Seviour two further penalties, the second of which allowed the home side to reach the interval with a 6-5 lead.

The second half was, in the main, a mirror image of the first, with packs still dominating and the referee getting busy with his whistle. Teigns’ kicker Mike Saxton briefly gave them the lead with a penalty before Seviour snatched it back for Penryn with one of his own, and it became clear that the match was likely to be decided by a mistake or a refereeing decision.

The first controversial decision came when Penryn were reduced to 14 men after a yellow card, allowing Chris Tidman the space to score his second try of the season with 5 minutes of normal time remaining. Unfortunately Teignmouth then received two yellow cards of their own, and during 14 minutes of injury time Seviour reduced the arrears before winger Alex Ducker scored his seventh try of the season to wrap up the victory.

After the game Teigns’ coach Simon Morrell felt that his team had suffered more at the hands of the referee than the home side, but was nevertheless proud of the effort his 16 men had made. “They put in a real shift today, and deserved more out of the game, but we’re moving in the right direction.”

This Saturday sees St Ives, the only team to beat Teignmouth in the league last year, visit Bitton Park for a 3pm kick off.