London Cornish regained the winning thread after a fractious match against their visitors from Sussex, all the points scored in the first half with the exiles two goals outscoring Bognor’s 2 penalties. The hosts will consider that they could and should have scored far more tries with the territorial domination they had in the match.
The form book suggested that this game could be a tight one, but the exiles recent travails in the tight have been the single greatest reason they have slipped up of late, and remedial action is being taken to correct this in the absence of the a number of the clubs options. With the attendance swelled both by a bevy of beauties from the Ladies Lunch, and by the sponsors ‘The Boarding Party’ (the Supporters Club from the now defunct Club Mounts Bay RFC, some of whom had travelled up from Gods Country), the match was keenly anticipated. The pitch had been in perfect condition but a heavy downpour just prior to the kick off ensured the ball would be slippery for the opening period at least. Cornish had reshaped their front row, first choice loose head Hamish Cuming at last returning to action, and Alex Harris in at tight head after some decent runouts in the 2s. With Pete Calvert struggling with a calf injury, Rob Aird was recalled in the row, and in the back row Charlie Wapshott was given a full debut in place of Chris Alder who benched. Perhaps the best news was the return from injury of the talismanic Andrew McEwen at 8. The backline saw recalls for Dave Madigan at 9, Ben Carew-Gibbs on the wing, and a full debut given to Tom Dorse at 15 in place of Tom Hurley who also benched.
As if to emphasize how difficult handling would be, Cornish almost gifted a try to the visitors from the off in a carbon copy of the hash they made in conceding a try to Weybridge a few weeks back. A misplaced long pass, a slip from the player attempting to field it, and a fly hack backwards by a recovering exiles back gave a scrum V to Bognor in the opening minutes. A couple of phases right then left and Cornish were penalised for hands in the till., the miscreant fortunate to escape without a card. The visiting kicker managed to pull the very kickable attempt wide of the left hand post and from this point on for much for much of the half he would not have much time to rue the miss, as his side went on the defensive. Piecing together rugby reminiscent of their form in opening weeks of the season, Cornish now strung together phase after phase, McEwen particularly prominent and well supported by Skipper Simon Brading. A rolling maul was worked down the right flank on 12 minutes, play worked across to fly half Rich McKeown in midfield on and on to left wing Robin Heymann who was snagged on the 22. Quick ball was spun left to right to the bang in form Nick Harlock, who stepped inside his man and outside the full-back to slam the ball over the line between the posts despite the despairing attention of two Bognor defenders (see picture above). McKeown added the extras and his side had a 7-3 lead. It was no surprise that the best opportunities to attack for the visitors came from the scrum, the sole area in which they had domination throughout the match. On 16 minutes the referee pinged Cornish for an offence inside their 22 and this time the Sussex side saw their kicker succeed with the attempt. The respite didn’t last long however, for on 20 minutes the exiles fashioned their best move of the match and another gem of a try. Winning the ball on half way they worked it to Harlock in midfield, but rather than taking it on himself he spun it wider still to the flying Heymann. Running with great confidence he blitzed his man on the outside and for the second match running left the oppo full back in knots, waltzing past him to score wide left as the cover came across. McKeown struck a superb touchline conversion and the lead was out to 14-3. With both wings looking threatening and the exiles backline clearly full of tricks, it was a great shame to the home supporters that right wing Ben Carew-Gibbs pulled a hamstring after another scintillating break down the right flank on 24 minutes, Hurley on in his place. With Cornish turning up the wick, the experienced Bognor pack used every trick in the book to disrupt play, particularly in not rolling away from the tackle area and in pulling the scrum half into the maul, offences seemingly ignored by the arbiter. Twice Cornish rolled mauls up to the Bognor line, once down the left flank and once the right, but on both occasions the ball was lost forward much to their frustration. Having withstood something of a battering in the loose, Bognor finally broke out on 37 minutes and their large 13 was body checked within kickable range, the kick made and the visitors grateful to only find themselves down by 14-6 at the break.
Cornish knew that this was a game that they had for the taking but they would need to finish more of their chances to put the game to bed. 2 minutes after the break they so nearly added a further try, Ian Keith hitting a gap on half way before releasing Heymann again. This time he chipped the cover and dived on the ball at the same time as the visiting cover over the try line, a bizarre decision given of a 5 metre scrum to the exiles, at which they conceded a penalty for Bognor to clear. With little control being exercised over the breakdown, players began to take the law into their own hands at this stage, both sides exacting retribution in their own way as clean ball became increasingly difficult to obtain. Territorial advantage remained with Cornish, Nimmons and Aird supreme in the lineouts from decent arrows by Johnson, and Wapshott and Brading competitive on the floor. Hampered by their ineffective scrummaging however, Cornish too often lost control in the tight and had to begin again from deep, Dorse seeing plenty of ball all of which he returned despite an inability to keep his feet. On the hour mark Cornish won a kickable penalty after a great break down the right flank by Hurley, but they elected to kick to the corner rather than take the points. With Nimmons taking the lineout, the maul was collapsed by the visiting prop for him to finally snap the referee’s patience and be sent to the bin. This offence seemed to light the blue touchpaper for now a series of squabbles broke out following each breakdown. Cornish withdrew Harris for Will Carew-Gibbs and Wapshott for Alder to freshen up the attack, and this did have a steadying effect on the scrums. Hemmed inside their own 22 and with the exiles repeatedly winning penalties that they refused to kick for points, the frustration for the visitors built until on 68 minutes the predictable flashpoint occurred, the referee deciding he had spotted a headbutt by the replacement Bognor prop and brandished a straight red. Though down to 13 for a short period, Bognor now saw their tormentor in chief Heymann also pull a hamstring reducing his side to 14 as all the replacements had been used. The remaining minutes were played out mainly inside the Bognor half, Cornish frustrated at their inability to secure clean ball and Bognor reliant on their 10 kicking them clear. Finally, on 80 minutes they won a penalty just inside their own half, and with the referee indicating time was up they elected to kick to try and pinch a bonus point they had scarcely deserved. The kick fell well short and bounced dead for the final whistle to sound.
These two clubs have decent relations between them, and nothing that went on during this game changed that, both sides mixing well at The Telegraph post match. Bognor produced a sterling defensive performance to keep the score down and there will have been a few sore bodies on the long journey home. They are a decent scrummaging side and will be a test in the tight for most in this tight division.
The league once again demonstrated on the day that you cannot discount any side as one of the top 3 came a cropper to one of the bottom 3. Cornish now boast the best defensive record in the league, but may consider that they should take more of the points on offer first before gunning for a bonus point. There is plenty of rugby left in the season, and points difference may yet be crucial. ..

LCRFC – Tom Dorse, Ben Carew-Gibbs (Tom Hurley), Nick Harlock, Ian Keith, Robin Heymann, Rich McKeown, Dave Madigan, Andrew McEwen, Charlie Wapshott (Chris Alder), Simon Brading (Capt.), Ed Nimmons, Rob Aird, Alex Harris (Will Carew-Gibbs), George Johnson, Hamish Cuming.