Penryn RFC and Falmouth Eagles battled out a 10-10 draw in what was a scrappy affair at the Memorial Ground on Saturday afternoon.

Penryn scored the only points of the first period midway through the half after a quick break resulted in James Salisbury crashing over in the corner.

Falmouth scored their first points of the match after 58 minutes with a penalty inside the 22 from Sam Walker as the fixture began to hot up.

Penryn replied in clinical fashion when a red and black shirt scored their second try of the game after a five-metre scrum. However, the conversion was missed keeping the Eagles still in the game at 10-3.

The visitors then produced their best spell of the game when Alfie Hammersly was picked out with a cross-field kick by Walker. The winger comfortably dummied his way past a defender before scoring in the corner to make it 10 apiece.

The Eagles had the better of the final stages but couldn't convert their opportunities as the home side put up a stern defence resulting in both sides sharing the points at the full-time whistle.

The Memorial Ground was well attended as Falmouth got the game underway on a cold and wet afternoon in Penryn.

The home side started the quicker of the two teams and were firmly camped in the opponent's half early on. Penryn did have an opportunity to take points from a penalty after seven minutes but opted to kick to touch in search of a try, a plan which failed when they gifted possession back to Falmouth from the line-out.

Falmouth rarely threatened to break out of their own half but centre Kofi Campling squandered a huge chance to get points on the board when he looked to latch onto a dropped Penryn pass. Had the Falmouth 13 claimed the ball cleanly he would have surely had the space, and pace to score but he blundered the ball forward gifting a knock on scrum to the Borough.

And from that scrum on 18 minutes Penryn opened the scoring, AJ Stansfield stormed through the Falmouth defence before passing right to evade a low tackle from Campling. The home side accurately moved the ball all the way across to Salisbury who danced his way over the try line in the corner to make it 5-0. Fly-half Nathan Strick took the conversion but could only drop his effort short left of the posts from a tight angle.

Falmouth Packet: James Salisbury and Penryn celebrate taking the leadJames Salisbury and Penryn celebrate taking the lead

The half turned into a scrappy affair with both sides making unforced errors on a number of occasions to disrupt the flow of play. Penryn thought they had added a second try with 35 minutes played but one of those aforementioned mistakes, a forward pass, forced referee Steve Bartlett to put an end to the attack.

Ollie Evans and Harvey Penhallurick for the visitors produced a try-saving effort in the dying minutes as the game threatened to go away from the Eagles. This time it was Benji Roberts who burst through the Falmouth line on a powerful 40-metre run. The flanker looked odds on to score their second try of the afternoon but the combined efforts of the Falmouth duo just about did enough to stop him in his tracks as the score remained 5-0 heading into halftime.

The second period began as the first had ended with Penryn having the majority of the possession however Falmouth's rigid defence stood firm to keep out their rivals.

The away side opted to look to level or take the lead on 48 minutes from a penalty by kicking to touch however a knock-on from the following lineout put an end to those hopes.

Alfie Hammersly so nearly had a sighter for a try on 52 minutes but similarly to Campling in the first half the winger knocked the ball on when trying to intercept a pass.

Once again Falmouth went searching for a try from a penalty as they kicked for the corner but in a carbon copy of earlier events they knocked on from their lineout.

Minutes later they chose to get points on the board from their next penalty as Sam Walker knocked a kick between the posts to make it 5-3 after 57 minutes.

This prompted a response from the home side who had certainly declined from their first-half standards. The Borough pressed high on the far left flank and after a sustained spell of pressure eventually got their second try of the game when a home shirt bundled the ball over the line following a five-metre scrum. Once again though the conversion from a tight angle was missed by Strick to make it 10-3 after 62 minutes.

The visitors were not deterred by this though and scored the try of the game just four minutes later. Walker, who was in the thick of the action, picked out Hammersly with a sensational cross-kick, the winger did well to secure the ball before pacing his way past the oncoming defenders before scoring. Walker proved his kicking boots were on by nailing the conversion from wide to make it 10-10 and line up a thrilling end to the game.

Falmouth Packet: Falmouth score to make it 10-10Falmouth score to make it 10-10

Falmouth had the better of the final stages and ought to have made more on a gifted opportunity to them in the 76th minute when they had a five-metre scrum after Strick had been brought down behind the try line. But once again a mistake cost Falmouth as Penryn won back possession to clear.

The Eagles had one last attempt to steal the match in the final play of the game but Evans knocked on a Walker kick as the referee called time on the rivalry.

Final score

Penryn RFC 10-10 Falmouth Eagles.

Teams:

Penryn: R. Burley, C. Hellier, G. Tedstone, P. Walton, A. Hughes, B. Roberts, G. Randlesome, AJ. Stansfield, T. Day, N. Strick, L. Cairns, A. Seviour, B. Jordan, J. Salisbury, K. Sale

Subs: H. Medlin, B. Trevaskis, E. Bloomfield

Falmouth RFC: A. Searle, J. Martin, R. Lawrence, J. Baglow, T. Whittle, M. Robinson, T. Simmons, N. Davies-Hale, J. Walker, T. Spiller, A. Hammersley, F. Deavin, K. Campling, O. Evans, H. Penhallurick