26 unanswered points in the final quarter of this match saw London Cornish see off a determined rear guard from Effingham & Leatherhead to retain top spot in London 2 South-West at the REMPF on Saturday. In what is becoming a familiar refrain, the exiles wore down their opponents and were clinical when they had the chance. On the selection front, Cornish welcomed back Bude boy James La Broy to partner fellow Cornishman Harry Somers in the row, and other changes saw Steve Wood at 6 and Jamie Saunders given a shot at 7. Dan Leo, Tim Homan and Tom Jeffery were not risked, so with Dave Funston returning at centre, Miles Rushworth moved to the wing.
An early exchange of penalties was followed by a fine try on 15 minutes from Cornish full back Dave Smith, him returning a loose kick before using a big overlap as a decoy to dummy his way over for a score converted by George Kimmins. With Cornish dominant in the tight early on, no 8 Mark Osei-Tutu was next on the scoreboard, smashing his way over in customary fashion following a scrum, Kimmins again on target with the conversion for a 17-3 lead. With Cornish playing a great brand of attacking rugby, Rushworth scored the third try on 33 following another fine backs exchange, Kimmins making it 4 from 4 to give a half time lead of 24-3. Effingham had not had much of the territory in the opening period, but had given notice that their backs could also break from deep, and their no 8 as ever is a great ball carrier, so they did not turn around forlornly, particularly as in the last act of the half the home side lost a man to the bin.
Seemingly buoyed by the extra man, Eagles took the game to Cornish from the off in the second period, the exiles falling off tackles for the first time in the match. 2 quicky tries, one of which was converted on 45 and 47 minutes brought the score back to 24-15, in the midst of which Cornish lost another forward to the bin for persistent offences. Skip Craig Chatley organised his teams defences to repel the Eagles advance, him, Funston and Somers all manning the barricades in aggressive fashion before the visitors best player on the day evaded a tackle close in to score out wide for another unconverted try. Cornish made changes, bringing on Oli Low, Chris Anstey and Will Dulley, and as quickly as they had lost control of the match, they regained it, helped in part by a few Eagles players cramping up. Matt Hakes scored the bonus point try on 65, which Kimmins also improved, then doubled up following a fine interchange with Smith and Funston, though this was not converted. At 36-20, there was no way back for the visitors, and the ruthless home side needed no second invitation, Smith scoring a superb countering try on 73, again with a Kimmins conversion before scrum half Rich Stephens poached his way over from some distance out to round to the posts (pictured) for Kimmins to have the final say on the day, taking his side to the half century.
In the past couple of seasons, Effingham have slowly slipped down the table to the situation they find themselves in now, 11th in the division. On this showing, they are capable of playing great rugby in bursts, and it is worth noting that they have yet to play struggling Warlingham, though the latter can also field a competitive side when they have all their guns available. However, this is a fiendishly tough and unforgiving league, and all of the teams in the bottom half are capable, so the relegation scrap will be tight this season and may go down to the wire. As ever, a decent bunch on and off the pitch, the longest tenants in the division are always capable of springing a few surprises so it will be a fascinating battle to watch.
Cornish will take the win, knowing that this is another game in which they have demonstrated that they are a work in progress. With a host of young 20 somethings in the backline alongside the more experienced heads up front, the Cup match may see a few given a rest prior to the resumption of league activities on 19th November.