PENRYN 22pts BUDE 5pts

This was a lack lustre performance from Penryn, who should have wrapped up this Skinner's Brewery Cornwall Knockout Cup tie in the first 15 minutes, but Bude did not see it that way.

Cup-ties are notorious for producing upsets, and whilst the result in this game was never in doubt after the first 15 minutes, Penryn performed well below the high standards that they have set themselves.

It was probably a combination of a number of factors. For starters a long hard season, with a disproportionate amount of travel to the other extremes of the South West region, is coming to an end, and there was probably a feeling that this would not be a difficult game to win, plus a very strong desire to conserve energy whilst avoiding injury a week before the crunch league game at home to Coney Hill.

Penryn ultimately ran out winners by 22 points to 5, after Bude had given them a run for their money. Borough had only a slender 8-0 lead at half time through an early penalty goal from scrum-half Martin Strick and a try from flanker James Mann.

Strick converted a penalty soon after the break, but the Cornwall and Devon league side scored their only points soon after when they took the game in to the home 22 and scrum half Dan Frost crossed after determined forward pressure.

But eventually the fitter home team gained control and after determined forward pressure, when they were camped on the Bude line for several minutes, referee Al Denham awarded a penalty try after repeated Bude infringements, each of which could have resulted in a try. Martin Strick had no difficulty with the conversion in front of the posts.

Soon after a strong three quarter movement ended with a break from Nick Brown, who passed to hooker Phil Wells, who ran 20 yards to score midway between the posts and the touch giving Martin Strick another easy conversion.

This was the last score of the game and the referee blew for time shortly afterwards.

Borough will not play like this against Coney Hill, and the mark of a good team is that it can play badly and still win, and Borough were well below their own very high standards in this game.

They appeared lethargic, there was little fluidity outside the scrum, the forwards were contained by Bude for large periods of the game and there appeared to be too much turning back inside when the pack should have released the ball to the threes who were obviously far superior in talent and ability.

Penryn 2nd XV had a friendly at home against Illogan Park, and ran out winners by 19 points (A try and two goals) to 10. Borough's try scorers were Alan Richards, Richard Tresidder and Ryan Kitchener, with two conversions by Paul Bannister.