CORNISH All Blacks joint head coach Ryan Westren admits his side ‘have put themselves in a decent position’ as they look to win promotion back to the Tribute South West Premier from Tribute South West One (West).

The Polson Bridge enjoyed an excellent 2018; they finished third last season following relegation, before Jimmy Tucker decided to step down in the summer, which allowed Westren and Ian Goldsmith to step up into the main job together.

And the results have been impressive. Their only setbacks in the league have come at home to local rivals Okehampton and at Newent in their final league match of the year.

However, their hopes of a first Tribute Cornwall Cup success for more than a decade went up in smoke, as they lost down at league rivals St Ives.

But Westren believes that the club are on their way back.

He said: “Everyone gets caught up in the last three or four months of rugby but forget what we went through before.

“The good times are from the last three or four years when it hasn’t been going our way. They’ve weathered that and all of a sudden, putting up with the wind and rain of 2015, 2016 and 2017 is proving its worth and we’re now understanding what it takes to succeed at certain levels.

“But it’s a project and we’re nowhere near our ceiling. We’re moving in the right direction.”

Such has been their improvement, they’re currently the league’s top scorers with 480 points, managed ten try bonus points, which is the same as they managed in the whole of last season. Although they’ve gifted some unnecessary tries, they still boast the second best defensive record with 282 points.

But Westren believes their new approach is paying off handsomely as they sit one point clear of Okehampton, who they meet in a potential title decider at the Showfield next Saturday.

He said: “The big thing we talked about in the summer was a lack of bonus points. We weren’t scoring enough tries.

“But we’ve played some scintillating rugby and managed ten bonus points from our 12 wins. We could have won the same amount of games but been in second. To put it as a goal and put it into practice is good.

“Defensively, there’s only one team better than us now. That’s come under a bit of criticism but the stats don’t lie. I’d rather that and score more. Sometimes you have to a wear a few.”

Looking ahead to 2019, Westren just wants to see progression.

He said: “We just want to see a continued development. I use Reuben Edwards as an example. The first year he was a bit part, second year he played a bit more and this year has arguably been one of our best players. When on form he’s one of the first names on the teamsheet.

“But all of the players want to listen. They’re not yes men, they’re not content just to go through the motions.”

While there are 12 games to go, many people feel that the next three games against North Petherton, Okehampton and St Ives will prove decisive in the title race.

Westren added: “It’s in our own hands. Whatever happens now is our doing but the pressure is going to be on and we have to deal with it.

“We have North Petherton at home first (Saturday, January 5). They’re the kind of side who can cause us issues. We’re not the biggest and we don’t play like them and then we have the two big local derbies.”

Christmas is known as a time to let the hair down and enjoy yourself but Westren hopes that the players looked after themselves.

He said: “A lot of it comes down to the boys’ professional standards. We missed two Tuesdays for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day but we trained on Saturday (29th), which we wouldn’t normally do and then the Thursday before the North Petherton game.

“It comes down to the boys’ personal standards and making sure they don’t let the team down. As a squad we can’t force anyone to run on the roads or whatever but I’d like to think the boys won’t have gone silly.

“Last year we had no realistic promotion hopes but this year we have a chance. We’ve put ourselves in a position to do so but there is still almost half a season to go, so we’re not getting ahead of ourselves.

“But we realise we’ve put ourselves in a position to do something special and we’re hell-bent on giving it our best shot!”