Ross Tucknott: Cornwall, Sport & All Sorts

Sedgley Park make their first trip to the Recreation Ground today still not mathematically safe from relegation, and will be looking to make Cornwall a happy hunting ground this season after stealing four points from Polson Bridge earlier in the season. After flirting with the drop in previous seasons, the Tigers finally descended from National One to National One in 2009 and have fared notably better than their Mancunian brethren, although they have inhabited the bottom half of the table for a good proportion of the season.

Sedgley’s ride through the past eight months has been bumpier than most, with more than three straight wins or defeats at any point. Only two wins in their first seven games left the Tiger’s wallowing near the basement, but their brightest achievements were right around the corner. They followed on from beating Launceston on the road to doing what no other team has done this year by beating league champions Esher by a single point. They failed to capitalise on the momentum though as breaks in the playing schedule and cancellations took their toll, and soon found themselves slipping down the table once more. Allowing Blackheath to do the double over them spurred them back into action with successive wins against Otley and Redruth (30-18), and recent vital wins against Stourbridge and Cinderford have seen them finally pull clearer of the drop zone.

Key to Sedgley Park’s chances are their backs, who have outscored their forwards almost three to one (only Manchester’s forwards have scored less tries than their rivals across the city). Leading the charge is Michael Roberts: the young winger has eleven tries to his credit. Former Manchester wing Thomas Blackwell has crossed the line eight times, including four tries in the last three outings, as has Matt Riley (Sale, Doncaster). Flanker Gareth Dew (Sale, Manchester) leads the forwards’ scoring with six tries, but three of those came at the expense of his employers from last season.