Mounts Bay 39 pts v Basingstoke 0 pts Away, Oct 14th at Penzance, Cornwall

Report by courtesy of Basingstoke Gazette.

BASINGSTOKE RFC’s difficult trip to deepest Cornwall to take on league leaders Mounts Bay proved exactly that for Jim Dixon’s side, as Saturday’s bruising South-West One meeting in Penzance ended in a humbling defeat, writes Graeme Hamlett.

Basingstoke’s first team – minus unavailable lock Russell Northcote, wing Karl Buttle, fly-half Matt Lucas and centre Simon Buckland – travelled to Penzance on Friday to stay overnight in a hotel and give themselves the best possible preparation for the historic first-ever meeting between the two clubs. Newly-promoted Mounts Bay have set the early pace in the division this season to top the table and they extended their unbeaten record at ’Stoke’s expense on Saturday by registering their fifth league win in six games.

Mounts Bay led 12-0 at the interval but forged ahead in the second half as ’Stoke resistance was gradually eroded and mistakes subsequently followed. ’Stoke director of rugby Dixon felt home fly-half Lee Jarvis controlled the game for Mounts Bay in a super solo display. "His kicking was excellent. Every time we had put them under pressure and got inside their 22, they got a turnover and he cleared their lines back to our 22, so we had to start all over again," said Dixon. The Kiwi added: "The scoreline doesn’t really reflect the effort the boys put in. It was a big game for a lot of the boys – but they were really up for it and worked very hard in a very physical game. "We defended for long spells and I cannot fault them for the effort they put in. We were up against a very solid side. "It was a shame we didn’t quite do what I asked the boys to do in the second half, because I was happy at half-time. "We were still in the game and the pack had really put them under pressure. "Unfortunately, we started to make a few mistakes and didn’t use the possession we had in the right parts of the field, which was disappointing." He continued: "A few of the boys put in really big performances. "Apples (Simon Appleby) had a great game, one of the best I’ve seen from him, and Caan (Childs) was excellent again at No 8. "Our new centre, Andrew Patrick, and Lambo (Dave Lambert) saved us a fair few times, and Mike Goodall at full-back defended well when he had to. "It was a long way to go and play at facilities that, despite the money down there, look like they haven’t been improved for nearly 20 years, but they praised us after the game for the way we fought them all the way. "And I am certain we can give them a very hard game when they come to Basingstoke in January."