Penryn 11, Bude 0

Penryn maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a hard fought Cornwall/Devon League win over Bude, in atrocious conditions at the Memorial Ground.

It was also a first defensive shut out of the season by Penryn, who "nilled" many an opponent on home turf last season. On this occasion, the Borough would have been pleased with the nature in which they controlled and then ground out a vital victory.

With such poor weather it was obvious as early as the warm up that the Penryn game plan may have needed some altering, as mistakes would have been forecast in equal measure to the oncoming rain.

The game was a scrappy affair, stifling much of the attack from both sides. Penryn were edging it though and took a deserved lead with a Mitchell Vague penalty.

The Borough were smarter at times too, using the boot to pin back Bude with the away side struggling to exit their own half.

It didn’t stop the ambition in attack, but the accuracy in the conditions was a little off. An uneventful first half drew to a close with Penryn leading by the slenderest of margins.

A flashpoint early in the second half seemed to be the turning point in the game though.

A nasty collision involving Penryn full back Kyle Bradley who bravely slid for the ball, saw the youngster met dangerously by a Bude player which incensed the hosts.

The home side lost Ben Birkett as well as the Bude offender for ten minutes, but it was the Borough who pushed on.

Vague kicked his second penalty to make it 6-0 and Bude were now on the ropes.

The Penryn set piece was in bullish mood, dominating the scrum and line out and this domination over a 20-minute period was ultimately what won them the game.

The Borough displayed great patience and control as they simply didn’t let Bude out of their own 22 for what seemed like an eternity, with countless scrums and line outs squeezing the life out of the visiting pack.

As Penryn knocked on the door and the clock ticked down, a crucial moment decided the game.

The Penryn forwards continued to throw themselves at the visiting line and eventually it was Ben Birkett who powered over, with the help of some driving play support.

Penryn’s patience had eventually ground down the visitors and despite the missed conversion, an 11-0 lead looked unassailable in the conditions with only minutes left.

Bude rallied in search of a potential bonus point, but as had been the case all afternoon they were well marshalled and rarely threatened thanks largely to an organised and hungry home defence.

It may not have been the most entertaining of games, but Penryn will have been delighted with the way they controlled their way to victory.

Penryn: Bradley, Saberton, Wilmott, Seviour, Salisbury, Vague, Oliver, Patterson, Birkett, Goldsworthy, Trevaskis, Followell, Stanfield, Hughes, Randlesome reps: Degenhardt, Hancock, Strick.

Penryn face the short trip to Hayle next week before a fortnight’s break from league action.