FALMOUTH 0pts KINGSBRIDGE 8pts

Conditions could not have been much worst at the Recreation Ground last Saturday for the Cornwall and Devon League match against Kingsbridge.

Although the steady overnight rain had eased off by kick-off time, the underfoot conditions were so heavy and slippery that mistakes were bound to occur and possession at times became a liability for both sides.

Nevertheless this well contested match, sponsored by Pendra Loweth Holiday Cottages, could have gone either way, but in the end Kingsbridge deserved their narrow victory because of their better control of the ball in the set pieces.

The first half was littered with handling errors as both teams tried to involve all 15 of their players in the game rather than adopting a safety-first approach which confined the ball to the forwards.

Because of this the game moved from end to end as each side tried to launch three-quarter attacks in turn only to find that the ball was lost and they were pushed back by long relieving kicks upfield.

However, Kingsbridge managed to open the scoring after 22 minutes when they worked the ball within range for skipper Simon Mundy to kick a penalty when Falmouth were caught offside and this turned out to be the only points of the half.

After the restart the game followed the same pattern, but the Kingsbridge pack started to gain more dominance in the scrums and lineouts which meant that the Falmouth outsides were always under pressure when they tried to run the ball. It is to the credit of both teams that they tried to move the ball wide whenever possible but there were several home supporters who must have questioned such tactics when valuable ground was lost because of handling errors.

Eventually Kingsbridge made the most of poor defensive marking from a quickly taken tapped penalty and slipped the ball to centre Simon Mundy who crossed near the posts for the only try of the match.

Falmouth came back well to camp on their opponents' line, but they were unable to make the pressure pay in the last quarter as Kingsbridge tired and had to accept the disappointment of a home defeat.

Next Saturday Falmouth "Chiefs" face a difficult fixture when they travel to Bencoollen Meadown for a Cornwall and Devon League game with Bude while the "A" team are due to play at home against Bude 2nds. Teams will be announced after training on Thursday evening.