Prior to kick off a minutes silence was held in memory of Steffan Rees, who unfortunately passed away this week whilst representing the UKAF. Our thoughts are with all of his Friends and Family.

From the first kick off Stewart ( Fergie) Ferguson claimed the ball and made 50 yards, powering through every body in his way. A smart offload when he was finally tackled, allowed for skipper Jimmy Elliott to set free Finley holden who dived over out wide. 14 seconds is all it took for the first try of the season! The conversion was pulled wide, but it set the tone for a first half dominated by the blue of Helston.

A good spell for Illogan after 25 minutes, resulted in one of their powerful forwards breaching the back line. Their 10 adding the 2 points.

An instant response on the half hour, a dominant scrum allowed space for a flowing backs move. Again the skipper Jimmy was in the thick of the action, stepping his man in midfield and fending off the fullback to dot down under the posts. Conversion was good from Paul (Sabs)Saberton.

Half time 12-7 Helston

As the heat wore on, you could see how hard the boys had worked in pre-season. Fitness levels showing across the board. The game fell into a scrappy spell, a meat grinder around the breakdown. Illogan winning many turn overs, and looking like they were edging themselves back into contention. A penalty on 52 minutes, was slotted by the Rats 10. Bringing the game within 3 points.

Helston responded well to the pressure, the scrum continued to be a strength, lineouts were going well and it was only a matter of time before a breakthrough was made.

After 3 successive scrum penalties 10m out from the Illogan line, Sabs took the tap and it was received with open arms by Christian (Slabhead) Cunningham-Wood. He powered through 5 Illogan men to score his first of the season. Sabs with the extra 2 took the score to 19-10, with less than 10 minutes remaining.

Fatigue started to show for both teams, but Helston held out and secured their first victory of the season.

Full Time Score Helston 19-10 Illogan Park

Debuts for Adam Pollock at 13, and Josh Wand from the bench in the backrow.

Man of the Match was awarded to Marcus Skewes. A powerhouse in the middle of the pack, ensuring the scrum stayed dominant. Running the lineout well and demonstrating that with hard work, results will come.

Thank you to all of our supporters

Our next fixture is 09/09 away to Liskeard-Looe