BODMIN 8pts FALMOUTH 36pts - Falmouth's first round Powergen Vase victory may have been anticipated as Bodmin play in a league below Falmouth, but this was far from a walk-over for the visiting team.

It was not until the final quarter of the game that Falmouth managed to pull away from their dogged opponents, who competed well in the set plays and were quick to close down the gaps when Falmouth tried to open up.

Only towards the end did Bodmin visibly tire and, with Falmouth introducing fresh legs from the replacement's bench, the difference between the sides was extended by 14 points. Up until then Bodmin kept the shackles on Falmouth and prevented them from releasing their threequarters in attacking positions.

In excellent playing conditions, Bodmin started brightly and took the game to Falmouth straight from the first whistle. Their lumpy pack contested every ball and their elusive outsides probed for weakness in the Falmouth defence as they set up camp in the Falmouth 22 for the first 15 minutes.

Falmouth absorbed the pressure, but found it difficult to clear their line until a break-out led by Tom Horne and Jamie Instance set up an unconverted try for Danny Sloman.

This seemed to settle the visitors' nerves and they embarked on a passage of play that produced two excellent tries and opened up a 17 point gap. The first was scored by Andrew Lancaster after a charging run by Steve Instance had set up a ruck near the Bodmin posts and then centre Adrian Matthews ran strongly and passed well to allow hooker, Scott Langdon, to cross the Bodmin line.

Full report in this week's issue.