Royal Wootton Bassett secured a much-needed victory against St Austell to push them into the top half of the league table.

The Cornishmen kicked off in near perfect conditions for open rugby and had the better of the initial plays.

A penalty in the sixth minute on the halfway was firmly punted into the corner by fly half and skipper Sam Baker.

The lineout was won, and Bassett stretched the Saints defence finally scoring back in the corner when winger Michael Clifton forced his way over in the corner.

The conversion was missed but the hosts led 5-0.

In the fifteenth minute, a converted try saw The Cornish side lead 7-5. From the restart, a Saints misfield saw Bassett drive into the 22.

 A series of attacks eventually saw full-back Charlie Brook go in in the corner. Scrum-half Rhys Floyd struck a long-range conversion to restore Bassett’s advantage.

 Not long after, another penalty saw the ball go to the corner and a straightforward catch and drive saw flanker Ollie Baycroft go over. Floyd converted.

The game continued to be an open affair and Saints reduced the deficit with a converted try, with the last play of the half, Floyd added a penalty and Bassett led 22-14 at the interval.

Bassett came out of the blocks after half time and had several promising attacks and made them count in the 47th minute. A superb run from Baycroft saw him break the defence and race over to score under the posts and secure the bonus point much to the delight of the home crowd. Floyd converted.

In an end-to-end game, the Saints hit back with a converted try to reduce the deficit to 29-21. In the 62nd minute, Baycroft, who was having an inspired game, again battered his way through the Cornish defence to score his third try of the game with Floyd converting.

 Bassett were now on top and began to put the visitors to the sword. A close-range Bassett attack was completed when flanker Jack Daynes forced his way over directly under the posts. Floyd converted.

Bassett then added a superb try when winger Byron Lloyd-Gilmour raced from his own 22 to score after a quickly taken penalty. Bassett led 50-21.

The Cornish team then responded with a converted try to secure their bonus point as the scoreboard operator was kept busy. A grandstand finish by the visitors then saw them add to further tries to leave the final score at 50-38.