FOR the second year running, Saltash missed out on making a Twickenham cup final by just the smallest of margins.
Last season, they were narrowly beaten 37-31 by eventual Counties Two Papa Johns Cup winners Old Rutlishians and on Saturday they were just edged out 22-17 by former National League outfit Old Elthamians in front of a big crowd at Moorlands Lane in the same competition.
It was the Ashes’ first defeat of the season, but it was another cup semi-final that could easily have gone either way.
Saltash just were not quite at their clinical best against a very strong Old Elthamians side who have claimed back-to-back promotions after dropping out of National One in 2021 for financial reasons.
The Ashes did have two tries controversially disallowed for forward passes, including one nine minutes from time that could have put them into the lead, while OEs had a touch-down cancelled out in injury-time.
“It was a very tough watch,” admitted Saltash’s director of rugby Steve Down.
“It was just fine margins, like that disallowed try.”
He added: “We just didn’t quite get into our rhythm. A couple of times we forced things, and we just couldn’t get our flow going, but, obviously, they (Old Elthamians) are a very good side.
“However, we are proud of what we have achieved this year.
“We always knew this would be a game of fine margins. There were parts of that which we could be very, very proud of, but some that we will be disappointed about.
“We’ll perhaps use it for some learning ahead of next year and see if there were anything we could have done better.
“But all we said afterwards was that we were really proud of the boys for their effort. They all came off either bloodied or tired – they did give everything.
“We started the second half much better than the first. In the first half we just struggled to get into the game a bit, but in the second half we felt we were starting to get a bit of momentum and things seemed to be going our way.
“We brought ourselves back into the game.
“But this is a very tough competition and when you get to the semi-finals there are no bad teams.
“With the amount of games we have got through in the last few weeks, maybe the brains and the bodies were a bit tired. A few people have been carrying knocks, and we have had illness through the camp, so excuses aside, there were probably a few reasons we weren’t quite as clinical, but we can’t criticise them as they were immense and have been all year.
“It has been a fantastic journey this year.
“I think when we look back on this year and look at all the things we have achieved, this will probably just be a blur.
“We really, really wanted the league and to take the Lockie Cup back off Services as well was quite pleasurable.”
Having already won the Counties Two Cornwall title and Lockie Cup, Saltash will have a chance to pick up another trophy on the bank holiday weekend when they play in the Cornwall Clubs’ Cup.
They will be hoping everybody will have recovered from four tough cup games in three weeks.
Old Elthamians, playing up the slope but with the wind advantage in the first half, started really strongly and Saltash spent the first 15 minutes defending.
The home side gave a number of penalties away and had second-rows Tom Rixson and Devon Bennett-Murray both yellow carded during that opening period.
Saltash did hold the visitors out until the 11th minute when former Ospreys, Edinburgh and Rotherham lock Perry Parker scored just to the right of the posts and fly-half Joe Leigh added the conversion.
Leigh then increased their lead with a penalty on 16 minutes.
But Saltash got themselves back into the game when centre Greg Eatwell scored under the posts after his midfield partner Danny Snook had done well to off-load to him after a strong run. Jack Pritchard added the conversion to make it 10-7.
Saltash were just starting to get going when former London Scottish and Italy sevens international scrum-half Luca Petrozzi intercepted a pass in his own half and showed his speed to run more than 60 metres to score and make it 15-7.
When the Ashes got back to 15 men they really pressed OEs. Bennett-Murray thought he had scored in the left corner, but it was disallowed for a forward pass and then the home side were penalised twice within touching distance of the whitewash.
Their pressure did result in visiting lock Parker picking up a yellow card in the 35th minute, but Saltash just could not turn their pressure into points.
And in first-half injury-time the Kent side scored a third try when centre Sam Tilley scored on the left after good play by impressive full-back Prince Ncube. Leigh added the conversion to put his side 22-7 in front at the break.
But Saltash came out firing for the second half and within two minutes they had reduced the deficit with a fine try under the posts by full-back Ryan Cruickshanks, which Pritchard converted.
Pritchard then kicked a penalty in the 48th minute to make it a one score game.
Saltash had a lot of pressure in OEs’ half, but the visitors did defend really well.
Yet the Ashes also defended well when they needed to and held OEs up over the line in the 64th minute.
With time beginning to run out, Saltash tried to up the pressure and a fine 50-22 kick by Cruickshanks got them in a great position. They pressed from the line-out, but they were stopped close to the line illegally and Parker was shown another yellow card and a red for his professional foul.
Saltash did think they had scored when James Moriarty fed Will Morton to go over under the posts in the 71st minute, but much to the Ashes’ surprise the try was ruled out for a forward pass after the touch-judge intervened.
That was a crucial moment and late on Saltash had to throw caution to the wind and OEs did look to have scored a decisive try under the posts, but that was also disallowed on the intervention of the touch-judge and the Ashes got a penalty.
There was still time for another chance, but Saltash were unable to take it and were left to rue another near Twickenham miss.
There was also disappointment on Saturday for Old Techs, who were beaten 55-7 away at higher league Withycombe in the final of the Devon Junior Cup.
Techs, playing their fifth tough match in a row having reached the quarter-finals of the Counties Three & Below Papa Johns Cup, had found themselves 43-0 down at half-time at Raleigh Park.
They did improve in the second half, but the damage had been done.
Their only try on the night came from forward Ollie Davey, which Jack Williams converted in the absence of Sammie Matts, who had to go to hospital with a suspected dislocated shoulder.
Withycombe’s tries came from Ben Dawson (3), Joel Ranft (2), Tom Cooke and Neil Scopes.
“We were 40 points down at half-time and never recovered,” said Techs secretary Colin Bodenham.
“We have had two hard games in the last two weeks, and it was probably just a game too far, whereas they’d had three or four weeks off.”
Also in a cup final, Saltash II were beaten 57-7 by a strong St Austell II side at Falmouth in the Duchy Shield.
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