Administrators of amateur clubs across the country will sympathise with the kind of week that saw London Cornish surrender their 9 match winning streak in London 2 South-West to London Exiles on Saturday, who in the process became the first team this season to claim a try bonus point against their hosts. With no fly halves available, and even the stand in dropping out mid week, then losing a player to a back spasm on the evening of the match and another having a puncture on the way to the game, the physio falling ill overnight and having to be replaced and this all compounded by a lengthening injury list to which 2 more were added during the game causing the 2s to concede a match for the second week running, the calls to some of the former players and VP’s watching to lace up was only part in jest! The frustration was that Cornish had battled back to a lead the game and have the try bonus point in the bag with 20 minutes to go, but contrived to surrender the lead and then in trying to chase the win even the losing bonus point slipped through the fingers! None of this should detract from an entertaining game of rugby in which the visitors made a passable impression of the great Old Wellingtonians team of the past, young, fit, mobile and playing a great brand (yes Exiles, brand!) of rugby, never giving up and snatching the win by virtue of turning great defence into attack.
Cornish began the game on the 2nd pitch playing towards the clubhouse into a freshening wind, and were quickly 3-0 then 10-0 down as the visitors countered after a home knock-on to cross wide left for a converted try. In an end to end encounter, it took 18 minutes for Cornish to respond, first Tom Jeffery and then Ben Ievers driving tackled players back to and then over the try line before the ball was spilled and Tom Ievers pounced to register his sides first try. The home side warmed to their task now, the ranks of the home support enjoying a Luke Spells handoff and counter down the left flank. Mark O’Leary twisted a knee at this point to bring Oli Low back into action following a long injury absence that had required a small op. Exiles responded with another try on the half hour mark, though this was unconverted, their right wing having been given room to cross wide right. Cornish needed to score next and they did, a Josh Allison jinking run taking play into the 22, and after an Exile was binned for a blatant offence near the try line. Rather than set the maul, Craig Chatley simply launched a crossfield kick into the waiting arms of top try scorer Jeffery to register another in a long list of scores, Allison adding the extras to leave the score at 12-15. Despite launching a huge rolling maul that saw E’s concede another penalty, Cornish couldn’t make it count inside the 22 and the whistle went at the break with the score still the same.
Right from the off in the second period Cornish attacked, the wind now at their backs. Ben Ievers was held up over the line on 43 minutes but his side would not be denied, and after hammering away in the E’s 22 it was stand-in Skip Will Carew-Gibbs who gave his side the lead, twisting over for an unconverted try. A catalogue of errors lead to the next score, Cornish charged down on 50, then losing concentration at their own scrum to kick the ball back to the visitors, who worked quick hands to send their left wing over for another unconverted try. Steaming from the error at the previous scrum, Cornish were next to score on the hour mark, driving E’s back at a scrum V for no 8 Tim Homan to register the bonus point try, Allison converting to give his side a 4 point lead at 24-20. The ding dong nature of the game continued on 68 when the home side somehow failed to defend the blind side at a maul for an Exile to simply walk over unopposed, the wind now having dropped completely but the kick pulled wide. Cornish attempted to work their way into E’s territory to claim back the lead, Carew-Gibbs leading by example in all that he did on the day, ably supported by Ed Atkin at 9 and Mark Osei-Tutu in the back row. However, disaster struck when an attack broke down on half way and an exile back launched a chip that bounced perfectly into his arms as he sprinted on the angle to score the crucial try on 73, this one converted to stretch the lead to 8. In the remaining minutes, it was somehow fitting of the week that Cornish kicked a great penalty opportunity dead and then knocked on in good field position with seconds remaining.
London Exiles have enjoyed a fine first season in London 2 South-West, and now sit 3 points behind Cornish in 4th place, though Cornish have 2 games in hand. Exiles have a 5th Round Intermediate Cup match at Sevenoaks to look forward to at the weekend, and go into it as underdogs who will tests their hosts in the loose to the full. It was great to see them all back at the Telegraph and we wish them well in their onward endeavours, even the referee moved to tweet how much he enjoyed the match.
For Cornish it’s a familiar refrain, can enough of the missing hordes return in time to guide their team to 2nd place at the very least? The fly half conundrum will resolve itself from this point in with both Phil Dale and Tom Hupfield returning to action in the next couple of weeks, while those nursing knocks will have the free Easter weekend during which to recover, but there are two vital away games before that break and both need to be won!