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Sat 19 Mar 2016 · London 2 South West
Basingstoke
1st XV
5
72
Tries: P Calvert (3), S Duda (2), M Osei Tutu (2), J Allison, T Jeffery (2), W Carew-Gibbs, R HeymannConversions: J Allison (6)
Disciplined Cornish Continue the Crusade!
Dickon Moon20 Mar 2016 - 20:23
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Big win sets exiles up for the Easter break.
London Cornish clinically disposed of relegated Basingstoke in front of an excellent crowd at the Hampshire side’s Pack Lane HQ on Saturday, registering 6 goals and 6 tries to a try to continue the promotion challenge at the top end of London 2 South-West on Saturday. 45 of the 72 points the exiles registered were scored in the final 30 minutes as the youthful home outfit simply tired in the face of some bulky Cornish runners forcing plenty of holes.
Before we dwell on the game itself, it is worth noting that around 170 folks sat down to a sumptuous pre match meal (and Irish dancers!) at arguably the best facility in the league, and the hosts were generous in every facet of their off pitch demeanour, which included providing the most complete programme in the division. Whilst the on pitch tribulations may be causing angst amongst their members, there is nothing wrong with Basingstoke RFC off the pitch and one suspects that when they do eventually break their fall, they will not be long in bouncing back.
It was clear from the off that this match was something of a mismatch up front, and when Pete Calvert crossed virtually unchallenged from a lineout barely 60 seconds into the game, the portents for the home side did not look good. On 10 minutes Stefan Duda turned on the afterburners (as he frequently did during the match), to score wide left for a try converted by Josh Allison. Mark Osei-Tutu broke from the back of a maul to score on 18 minutes and then weaved his way over from the 22 a few minutes later to give his side the bonus point with just over a quarter of the match gone. Twice held up over the line in the next 5 minutes, the first time after Jamie Saunders had shown a great turn of foot from inside his own half, the next score came when fly half Phil Dale spotted men over wide right and chipped the ball expertly into the waiting arms of Allison to score. Basingstoke made their first foray into the visitors 22 on 38 minutes when they intercepted a loose pass, but despite the fine work of their no 8 were unable to sustain the phases for the whistle to go with Cornish 27-0 up. Cornish had not conceded a single penalty in the entire first 40 minutes.
Cornish made a couple of changes early on in the 2nd period, Oli Low off after a decent shift in the front row and replaced by Ian Dowie, Matt James and Osei-Tutu also withdrawn to give Tim Homan a run and to give Steve Wood a 1st team debut. The changes seemed to disturb Cornish, for they began conceding penalties, and after being caught out by a quick tap on 47 minutes, Basingstoke worked room wide right for one of their backs to cross to the loudest cheer of the afternoon, the score unconverted. The try seemed to rouse the visitors, for on 51 minutes a Luke Spells interception saw the centre link with Dale and his chip was eventually gathered by Duda to twist his way over for a try well converted by Allison. A couple of minutes later and it was Dale making the break, spinning the ball to Tom Jeffery on the right wing to bash through a couple of tackles and score under the posts for Allison to add the extras. Jeffery was back for more shortly afterward when Matt Hakes burst through and spun the ball to the giant wing to hug the right hand touchline and sprint over (see picture) for another well converted try. With Cornish now rampant every time they had the ball in hand, the forwards and backs linked well with around 10 left, Joe Donnelly and stand in scrum half Robin Heymann linking with Hakes, Homan and Spells to send the ball to hooker Will Carew-Gibbs to dash over wide left. Heymann is not a man to whom a side can afford much space, and he was next to register, stepping this way and that to carve through for a converted try under the posts. The injury crisis at Cornish has seen former County lock Calvert given an extended run in the 1s for the first time in a few seasons, and he landed his second try with a few minutes remaining, twisting his way over for Allison to add the extras. Clearly sniffing a hat-trick for the first time in Cornish colours, the veteran was on hand to complete the scoring in the final minute, bookending his teams tries neatly at either end of the game.
Basingstoke are clearly targeting small wins in their remaining games, such as scoring a try, winning turnovers and running the ball as much as they can. They played the game in the right spirit and it is to be hoped that defeats such as this one do not dampen their young team’s enthusiasm, as life will get easier next season.
Cornish go into the Easter break still in 2nd place, and with the promise that they can finally return to their 1st team pitch for the first time since early November, hopefully for their remaining 3 home matches. There are no gimmees in the remaining matches, so the fun should continue to the final whistle!
Before we dwell on the game itself, it is worth noting that around 170 folks sat down to a sumptuous pre match meal (and Irish dancers!) at arguably the best facility in the league, and the hosts were generous in every facet of their off pitch demeanour, which included providing the most complete programme in the division. Whilst the on pitch tribulations may be causing angst amongst their members, there is nothing wrong with Basingstoke RFC off the pitch and one suspects that when they do eventually break their fall, they will not be long in bouncing back.
It was clear from the off that this match was something of a mismatch up front, and when Pete Calvert crossed virtually unchallenged from a lineout barely 60 seconds into the game, the portents for the home side did not look good. On 10 minutes Stefan Duda turned on the afterburners (as he frequently did during the match), to score wide left for a try converted by Josh Allison. Mark Osei-Tutu broke from the back of a maul to score on 18 minutes and then weaved his way over from the 22 a few minutes later to give his side the bonus point with just over a quarter of the match gone. Twice held up over the line in the next 5 minutes, the first time after Jamie Saunders had shown a great turn of foot from inside his own half, the next score came when fly half Phil Dale spotted men over wide right and chipped the ball expertly into the waiting arms of Allison to score. Basingstoke made their first foray into the visitors 22 on 38 minutes when they intercepted a loose pass, but despite the fine work of their no 8 were unable to sustain the phases for the whistle to go with Cornish 27-0 up. Cornish had not conceded a single penalty in the entire first 40 minutes.
Cornish made a couple of changes early on in the 2nd period, Oli Low off after a decent shift in the front row and replaced by Ian Dowie, Matt James and Osei-Tutu also withdrawn to give Tim Homan a run and to give Steve Wood a 1st team debut. The changes seemed to disturb Cornish, for they began conceding penalties, and after being caught out by a quick tap on 47 minutes, Basingstoke worked room wide right for one of their backs to cross to the loudest cheer of the afternoon, the score unconverted. The try seemed to rouse the visitors, for on 51 minutes a Luke Spells interception saw the centre link with Dale and his chip was eventually gathered by Duda to twist his way over for a try well converted by Allison. A couple of minutes later and it was Dale making the break, spinning the ball to Tom Jeffery on the right wing to bash through a couple of tackles and score under the posts for Allison to add the extras. Jeffery was back for more shortly afterward when Matt Hakes burst through and spun the ball to the giant wing to hug the right hand touchline and sprint over (see picture) for another well converted try. With Cornish now rampant every time they had the ball in hand, the forwards and backs linked well with around 10 left, Joe Donnelly and stand in scrum half Robin Heymann linking with Hakes, Homan and Spells to send the ball to hooker Will Carew-Gibbs to dash over wide left. Heymann is not a man to whom a side can afford much space, and he was next to register, stepping this way and that to carve through for a converted try under the posts. The injury crisis at Cornish has seen former County lock Calvert given an extended run in the 1s for the first time in a few seasons, and he landed his second try with a few minutes remaining, twisting his way over for Allison to add the extras. Clearly sniffing a hat-trick for the first time in Cornish colours, the veteran was on hand to complete the scoring in the final minute, bookending his teams tries neatly at either end of the game.
Basingstoke are clearly targeting small wins in their remaining games, such as scoring a try, winning turnovers and running the ball as much as they can. They played the game in the right spirit and it is to be hoped that defeats such as this one do not dampen their young team’s enthusiasm, as life will get easier next season.
Cornish go into the Easter break still in 2nd place, and with the promise that they can finally return to their 1st team pitch for the first time since early November, hopefully for their remaining 3 home matches. There are no gimmees in the remaining matches, so the fun should continue to the final whistle!
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