Despite a pulsating finish, that saw the visitors score 19 points in the last 11 minutes and miss a last kick of the game conversion attempt to draw level, London Cornish fell to their second league defeat in a row at the Broadlands HQ of Guildford. The home side held out by 2 goals and 3 tries to 2 goals, 2 tries and a penalty to claim 5 points to the exiles 2, their domination of the scrum a key feature of the match.
Cornish went into the game shorn of their first choice props and of their back up at tight head, a reshuffle their hosts were quick to exploit. There were recalls for JJ Moore standing in at tighthead for injured Skipper Dave Theobald, Ed Nimmons in the row for the absent Rob Aird, and Simon Brading in for the injured Mike Allewell in the back row. A debut was given to Tom Jacob at 9 in place of the unavailable Dave Madigan, Conor O’Daly returned from injury at outside centre with Nick Harlock switching to the wing in place of the absent Laurie Bridgett, and Robin Heymann was given a full debut on the wing in place of the injured Ben Carew-Gibbs, all 6 of these changes forced on the exiles rather than being on the basis of form. On the bench further debuts were given to Charlie Wapshott in the back row, and full back Tom Dorse, a close season capture from Cullompton RFC. It is taking time for the exiles to sort through their myriad new signings, but there was evidence here that in some areas the club has never had more choice. The home groundsman had clearly lost his lawnmower during the week, the grass on the home pitch as long as any seen by your correspondent in reason seasons! He may have hoped the anticipated heatwave would wither the grass but as in previous weeks, the weathermen are about as accurate with their forecasts as Mystic Meg.
Though Cornish began the game well working through a number of phases inside the Gs half, the territorial domination swung quickly the home sides way as they forced the exiles back inside their 22, a 5 metre scrum being hurriedly kicked to safety by Rich McKeown. On 11 minutes Cornish were pinged for a high tackle bang in front of the posts 30 metres out, only to see the Gs kicker pick up where Northampton had left off the previous evening in scooping a poor attempt well wide. It did not take long for the home side to trouble the scoreboard operators however, as they worked some space wide left for their full back to join the line and evade a badly missed tackle to slide over wide left, the conversion attempt well wide. The exiles responded within two minutes, Ian Keith fly hacking into the home 22 for Alex Crimmens to recover and drive on only for the Gs wing to kill the ball, him being binned for his indiscretion and McKeown reducing the arrears to 2 with the penalty. Crimmens suffered a rib injury in his drive, and was replaced by proud Cornishman Wapshott at 7 with stand-in Skipper Brading moving to 8, the new man having played well in a series of 2nd team matches this season. On 24 minutes, Gs won a penalty for an exile fielding the ball in front of a knock on, Gs kicking the ball to the corner. They were twice repelled in trying to pick and drive their way over from the lineout before they won a further penalty, which was also kicked to the corner. This time they worked the ball into midfield for their wing, freshly returned from the bin, to hit an angle on the slice from right to left, poor defending for a second time enabling him to waltz clean through and score half way out from the posts on the left hand side. Once again the conversion was missed, but the signs were ominous for the visitors as the best defence in the league to this point had twice given up soft tries. Despite having an increasingly dominant scrum, Gs simply could not find their way over the Cornish line during an utterly dominant next 10 minutes, Wapshott joining Brading and Chris Alder in repelling the invaders at close quarters. Finally they went wide for their lumpy 12 to find clear daylight and simply hit a line straight through the visiting d to score under the posts, again the first up defence at fault. This time the conversion was made and Gs were full value for their 17-3 lead at the break.
Cornish were forced into another change at the break, hooker Will Carew-Gibbs succumbing to what looks like a broken hand, Ronnie Gunson on at loose head and George Johnson moving to hook. Now playing up the slope, Cornish did at least have a stiffening breeze at their backs, but Gs were quick to pin them down in the left hand corner on the clubhouse side of the pitch. They kicked a penalty to the corner but as they drove their maul toward the line, Nimmons wrestled it clear for McKeown to complete the clearance. However, the respite did not last long and within 6 minutes Cornish were under their posts again, the home pack having finally rumbled a rolling maul over the line wide left, this time the conversion being made to edge the lead out to 24-3. Cornish had to respond now or their hosts would be over the hill and gone, but with so little quality set piece ball they had been starved of possession to this point. Brading lead the response, twice involved to drive his side up the field and harassing the home side into an error. Jacob spun the ball to McKeown and on to O’Daly, whose cut out pass reached Harlock in space for the first time in the game. He pinned his ears back and outsped the cover to score on the right touchline, the first time any real quality possession had reached the backline. With Gs backs receiving a stream of clean ball they could vary their options, relying on using their one quick wing and their other lumpy one on the slice and their equally lumpy 12 on the crash ball. These tactics were not making the ground they did in the opening period however, and their next score came route one on 64 minutes after they had marmalised the exiles scrum inside the visitors 22. A few phases of pick and drive saw one of their forwards crash over and the lead was now out to a seemingly unassailable 29-8. Cornish made a final change, Dorse on for Tom Hurley at full back in a straight swap. Within 3 minutes Gs were again reduced to 14 when their hooker was binned for a blatant offence. Cornish sensed their moment, the travails of the scrummaging now evened up. Brading broke blind on 68 minutes, chipping the ball in behind the Gs back 3 wide right for Harlock to sprint round his man, collect as the ball bounced up and dive over the whitewash for his second try. A superb touchline conversion by McKeown and the deficit was reduced to 14. Two minutes later Cornish attempted a carbon copy move, the Gs in goal areas the deepest of any in the league. This time Harlock tripped as he closed in on the ball in the in-goal area with the ball at his mercy, the Gs wing touching down for the drop out. Now however, the home side were making the tackles as the exiles upped the ante. On 76 minutes a series of lineouts were won by Nimmons and fellow lock Pete Calvert in the top left hand corner of the pitch. With Jacob marshalling the rally, Cornish worked their way infield until the ball was released to McKeown whose quick hands gave Moore the simplest of tasks to flop over the line right beside the posts. The conversion was made again and suddenly the score was 29-22, the exiles in bonus point territory. With the large home crowd increasingly anxious and the visiting support baying for more from their revitalized charges, there was still time for Cornish. In their desire to win the ball Cornish conceded a penalty inside their own half down the right flank. Gs kicked inside the 22 and the ball was knocked on by Cornish at the restart. With time almost up Johnson chose a great moment to nick one against the head, Brading working the ball to Jacob almost on his own try line. McKeown went wide and spun the ball to Dorse, who set off between the home centres and up field. He straightened his line to draw the right wing and released a flying Heymann in support up the right flank. Heymann outsprinted the recovering centre and burst into the Gs half to be met by the home full back, who was left clutching thin air as the 7s expert stood him up and set off for the try line. A test of pure speed saw him clear of the cover to score a superb try ten metres in from the left flank as the left wing tried to cut him off, the bonus point try met with generous applause by all watching for its its speed and execution as much as its audacity, the referee indicating that the conversion attempt would be the last action of the match. McKeown stepped up and dragged his kick to the left of the posts only for the drama to continue as Gs had charged too early. The second attempt started off well inside the left upright but it was caught on the wind and drifted narrowly wide, the final whistle greeted with some relief by an exhausted home XV.
Guildford will surely be up amongst the leaders when the end of term prizes are handed out, their set up at Broadlands as good as any in the division. They will rarely be up against such an underpowered front row but they got their 5 points and will have taken that pre match.
Cornish refound their mojo in the last quarter of this match to claim two vital bonus points, and will be reinforced from this point on by a couple more new signings and the return of a series of players from both injury and unavailability due to work. The DoR has given the entire 1s squad 10 days off at this point, the squad regrouping with the reinforcements on board after the next weekend. If they can replicate that final try on a regular basis, it could be thrilling to watch!

LCRFC – Tom Hurley (Tom Dorse), Nick Harlock, Conor O’Daly, Ian Keith, Robin Heymann, Rich McKeown, Tom Jacob, Alex Crimmens (Charlie Wapshott), Simon Brading (Capt.), Chris Alder, Ed Nimmons, Pete Calvert, JJ Moore, Will Carew-Gibbs (Ronnie Gunson), George Johnson.