LAUNCESTON joint head coach Ian Goldsmith admitted ‘rugby isn’t much for any of us right now’ after St Austell completed their first ever league double over the All Blacks at Tregorrick Park on Saturday.
The visitors, who had lost their previous five games, deservedly led 21-19 at the break courtesy of George Hillson’s brace which he converted himself and a try from James Tucker, but the Saints scored four converted tries in the second half to close the gap to just a point in the race for fourth.
Reflecting on the afternoon, Goldsmith said: “It was a really good performance with the ball in the first half and we could have scored even more points.
“But the frustrating thing was every time we scored we’d give a penalty away which allowed them to put the pressure on.
“Basically we didn’t keep them out long enough after we scored, but saying that we went into half-time two points up and had a pretty strong breeze behind us.”
Launceston lost influential captain Tom Sandercock and James Tucker either side of the break, and the Saints capitalised.
Goldsmith continued: “Losing Grav to injury at the end of the first half wasn’t ideal.
He’s been really good again this season but fingers crossed his knee isn’t too bad, but it’s unlikely we’ll see him again this season, and then ten minutes in to the second half we lost Tucks (James Tucker) as well.
“Their backline is good and with the way Matt Shepherd was playing at 13, it was always going to be tough.
“They attacked in the wide channels where we were vulnerable due to the reshuffle, and once they got two scores pretty quickly we were up against it.
“Then, when we did get the odd opportunity to make some headway, we’d make a silly mistake or our line-out would malfunction.”
\The defeat means the All Blacks will likely need to beat either new leaders Barnstaple or second-placed Brixham to finish fourth, and Goldsmith admits they are in a rut.
He said: “The second half pretty much sums up where we are as a squad in terms of confidence.
“That’s six defeats now on the bounce which means rugby isn’t much fun for any of us right now, but all the boys can do is use these bad memories to remember how difficult it can be to win a game of rugby, and when you do, make sure you really enjoy those moments.”
However he was still keen to look at the bigger picture, adding: “We’re still fourth in the league despite only picking up two or three points in the last six games, and we’ve got the Cornwall Cup final in April, so it’s not all doom and gloom.
“If we can end the season fourth and win the cup then you’d say it’s been a good season.”
Launceston have now conceded 580 points from 20 games, the fourth worst in the division, that despite having the fourth best record in attack (626), and Goldsmith knows they need to tighten up.
He said: “We set out in pre-season to up our attacking prowess which we’ve certainly done, but it’s no secret as to what we’ll be working on over the summer and that’s our defence.
“We’ve let in far too many points for comfort, and it’s got to change!”