TAVISTOCK RFC ground out a 16-15 win over fellow strugglers St Ives that gave their Western Counties West survival prospects a major boost.

The Moorlanders (17pts) are still second from bottom, but have moved within three points of St Ives (20) and Bude, who were 33-12 losers away to Redruth Quins.

Marc Kerswill, the Tavistock player-coach, said the squad knows what’s needed to sustain a revival.

“We are up against it and need to pick up points away from home,” said Kerswill.

St Ives came on strong in the first five minutes and took the lead from a close-range try after Tavvy’s Chris Watts had been binned for a deliberate knock-on.

Freddie Fuller redeemed himself for an earlier miss with a penalty that put Tavvy on the board. Dan Yeatman had an impressive first half with a number of turnovers.

Tavistock took the lead after the break when Fuller potted a penalty. St Ives replied almost immediately with a try on the scuttle for scrum-half Levi Webster.

With Andy Schuttkacker dominating the line-out for Tavistock, a platform was created for the pack to bundle Kerswill over for a rare try.

Ding-dong it went with plenty of back-and-forth until Schuttkacker scored from a five-yard scrum. Back came St Ives with a try from the restart that left a point in it.

Kerswill said the final 15 minutes were tense as both sides probed for a score.

“We managed to camp in their half for much of it,” said Kerswill.

“We were held up with three minutes to go – and from the drop-out St Ives went through 10 phases up to the half-way line.

“Eventually we turned them over to seal a rare win.

“It was a real spectacle of a game and I wish I could have watched as it ebbed and flowed.”

Kerswill said picking out star men was an invidious job after a ‘fantastic performance’ from one to 15, but did have two pats on the back to deliver.

“Joe Burbage at prop had a great game across the park – and Tom Burgess made a big impact on his debut,” said Kerswill.