THIS was possibly a game too far for the Ashes who were edged out by their impressive visitors from London who booked themselves a place in the final at Twickenham.

The Ashes hadn’t lost since September, but there was no disgrace losing to a very strong and fast Old Elthamians side that contained a good pack of forwards that linked well with their fast and elusive back division.

The game was played on a very dry pitch with the gusty wind giving good distance to clearing kicks.

The start was evenly contested with both teams probing away at the opposition’s defence, but the Ashes were reduced to 14 players following a yellow card after 10 minutes close to their line.

That frustration was then added to almost straight away as Perry Parker went over the home line from the resulting penalty and fly-half Joe Leigh converted (0-7).

The Old Elthamians forwards were taking control and the lead was extended with a penalty by Leigh.

Saltash immediately counter-attacked with some good movement and handling ending in centre Danny Snook touching down near the posts and scrum-half Jack Pritchard added the extra points (7-10).

Saltash continued to press hard into the Old Elthamians half, but an interception by the very quick Luca Pettrozzi extended the visiting advantage after 24 minutes with an unconverted try (7-15).

Both sides battled to get the next score as the game ebbed and flowed, but five minutes before the interval an Old Elthamians player was shown a yellow card.

There was still time for the visitors to extend their lead further as centre Sam Tilley burst through to score with Leigh converting for a deserved half-time lead of 22-7.

Saltash came out for the second half in a very determined manner, attacking the visiting line and full-back Ryan Cruickshanks brushed off attempted tackles to get a second Ashes try on 43 minutes which was converted again by Pritchard.

Five minutes later a penalty from Pritchard reduced the Old Boys lead to five points (17-22) and gave the final half an hour a very tense finish for both the players and the spectators of both clubs.

Tries were disallowed at both ends of the pitch as the visitors - a National League One outfit as recently as 2021 - secured their spot in the final at nearby Twickenham.

While Saturday’s result was tough to swallow, the whole Ashes squad and coaches can feel very proud of their season as the main objective of winning the league and promotion has been achieved as well as victory over close rivals Devonport Services in the Lockie Cup.

The treble also remains a possibility as they still have a Cornwall Cup final to come on May 25 when they take on Helston at Hayle.

Elsewhere around the club on Saturday, Saltash Seconds were well-beaten 57-7 by their very strong St Austell counterparts at Falmouth in the CRFU Duchy Shield final.

SALTASH: Ryan Cruickshanks, Will Morton, Greg Eatwell, Danny Snook, Jay Moriarty (capt), Billy Dover, Jack Pritchard; Simon Nance, Ryan Walsh, Liall Honey, Devon Bennett-Murray, Tom Rixson, Lewis Wells, Phil Eatwell, Ryan Rayner. Replacements: Axel Nicks, Ryan Simmons, James Sutton, Lewis Woolaway, Fin Jones, Charlie Knight, Steve Williams.