Penryn 36 Okehampton 12

Penryn continued their recent upturn in form with a convincing bonus point victory at home to visiting Okehampton.

The travelling Okes have recently enjoyed some good form of their own, but were put to the sword by a clinical Penryn team that boasted six different try scorers.

Conditions were perfect on what was a cold and crisp autumn afternoon, with the sun shining and the surface superb.

The opening phase of the game set the tone and standard for Penryn, as an excellent chase from the restart saw flanker Phil Hinchley smash his opposite number into touch for a Penryn lineout. It was then that set piece dominance began for the Borough.

If it wasn’t lineout ball the forwards were snaffling, it was the one-sided contest at the scrum that gave Penryn consistent front foot ball to send their big runners over the gain line and create space for the lively backs outside.

To Okehampton’s credit, they resisted the home side’s pressure in the first ten minutes, before ultimately succumbing to the inevitable. The forwards had a march on their opponents and crept to within inches of the Okes line before Ben Trevaskis touched down from close range. Jake Seviour converted well and Penryn were deservedly in front.

It was nearly twenty minutes before Penryn crossed again, this time in more fortunate circumstances but again from the set piece.

A lineout that misfired created a gap in the middle that Kye Beaseley gladly accepted to crash over and extend the lead to 12, as Seviour narrowly missed.

Okehampton, who hadn’t had a sniff so far, got themselves back in contention with a fortuitous try of their own. A nasty looking kick bounced awkwardly for Taron Peacock and landed in the arms of the oncoming Okes as they sauntered in for a try that was barely their own doing. The conversion was good, but Penryn held the lead at the break.

There was a scare for the hosts at the beginning of the second period as the Borough cleared their lines following a spell of pressure from the visitors, only to see Okehampton return the ball with great conviction and cross to tie the scores.

A missed conversion ensured it stayed at 12 apiece, but the unjust score line seemed to galvanize the Borough.

The Penryn side played as if their lives depended on it, taking out their frustrations out in their play as they pressed hard to regain the lead.

Excellent patience and composure, created the chance they needed as Jake Seviour crossed in the corner for an excellent try. As Seviour gathered his breath Dave Pascoe took the conversion that faded just wide.

Although the lead only stood at five, this seemed to relax the Borough as they began to play some magnificent stuff. The forwards who had worked so hard all afternoon, were popping up all over the park with a series of superb offloads to put the visitors on the back foot and in a breathless spell, the sheer tempo of Penryn's play saw Daniel Booth cross for the bonus point try. Seviour converted this time and Penryn were cooking.

The next try was a thing of beauty, as a move fresh of the training ground sliced through the Okes defence, with Colin Campbell claiming the score in front of a purring Penryn crowd. Seviour narrowly missed again, but at 29-12 Penryn had completed an impressive job.

Despite the sour note of prop Kye Beaseley suffering a suspected ankle fracture, there was still time to put some gloss on the result and performance, with wing Peacock duly obliging after more good work from Campbell.

Seviour converted this time as the score line began to get ugly for the visiting Devonians. Captain George Jones saw yellow late on, and as a melee broke out on the far side of the pitch the referee called an end to proceedings.

Paul Trevaskis and the coaching team were understandably delighted. Speaking after the game, the Penryn coach said: “We asked for a team performance today and we got that. The players have been working really hard in training, and today the scrum was fantastic and the backs scored some cracking tries.

“We have been playing well over the last few weeks, with a good squad of players pushing for the first team shirt. The Saracens had a good win last week at Veor, and it was disappointing that they did not get game time today because of Falmouth not being able to raise a side. We also hope some injured players will be returning over the next few weeks.”

Penryn will travel to basement side Paignton this Saturday.

Penryn: Vague, Campbell, Evans, A Seviour, Peacock, J.Seviour, Pascoe, Beaseley, Booth, Williams, Hancock, Trevaskis, Hughes, Hinchley, Jones (C) Replacements: Birkett, Oldfield, Rainbird
Tries: Trevaskis, Beaseley, Booth, J Seviour, Peacock, Campbell
Conversions: J Seviour (3)
Sin bin: Jones