A fantastic team performance from a London Cornish team including 2 debutants, saw the exiles land 7 goals, 3 tries and a penalty in dishing out a 67-18 hammering to mid table Old Tonbridgians in London 2 South-West on Saturday. The win, coupled with favourable results elsewhere, saw Cornish stretch their lead at the top of the table to 8 points after 9 of the 22 rounds.

In the absence of hookers Jake Slade and Tim Homan, Cornish elected to field Dave Theobald at 2, him having demonstrated previously that he is more than capable in that slot. Player of the Year Ben Ievers finally returned to make a start at lock, with James La Broy fielded at 6 with Dan Leo having commitments elsewhere. Out wide, there were debuts for former Old Patesians pair Paddy Dean at 10, and Robin Trott at 15, with regulars George Kimmins and Dave Smith unavailable, and last seasons top try scorer Tom Jeffery was also back having recovered from the knock that kept him out of the previous match. Very little was known of the visitors, except that they hail from Richmond and have acquitted themselves well in the 8 games since their promotion, no team able to master them comfortably.

With the pitches at the REMPF in perfect condition and the weather staying dry but cold, the day was set for running rugby. Cornish began as well as they have all season, playing away from the clubhouse in the opening period, and thoroughly deserved the opening try on 8 minutes, Skipper Craig Chatley latching on to a pass after a great break from Ben Ievers to score wide left, Dean demonstrating a fine boot with the conversion. Dominating territory and possession in the opening quarter, OT's tackle count was huge, and it was no surprise when La Broy smashed his way over just to the left of the posts (see picture) for Dean to again add the extras. However, with their very first attack the visitors returned a kick with interest and a decent offload saw one of their number score close to the posts, only for the conversion to be driven wide. The score gave OT's confidence and for the next 15 minutes it was they who dominated possession and territory, landing 2 penalties on 25 and 28 minutes to reduce the deficit to 3. Cornish needed to respond, and respond they did, scrum half Rich Stephens dummying his way over from some distance out for a converted try, and Dean adding a penalty to the conversion on 38 minutes. The half time whistle went with Cornish 24-11 to the good.

With their scrum so dominant and the lineout functioning well, a steady stream of possession flowed to the league leaders in the 2nd half, and some of the interplay between forwards and backs was as good as any seen in recent seasons for the exiles. Mark Osei-Tutu benefitted from a pushover on 50, Dean making it a maximum, then Dave Funston angled his way over in a similar spot a couple of minutes later, though this one was not improved. With Tom Lloyd now on for Oli Low up front, his fresh legs saw him the beneficiary of great offloading for a try created some way out, as 8 pairs of hands saw Lloyd given the task of diving over wide right, Dean landing a fine conversion. 3 minutes later Stephens added his second, Phil Dale (now on for Dean at 10) showing that he too has a fine boot to land the conversion from way out right. In a 7 minute spell between 50 and 57 minutes, Cornish had added 26 unanswered points to blast clear of the shell shocked hosts and put the game to bed as a contest. OT’s finally responded with a converted try on 67, but the agony was not over as Jeffery now sniffed a piece of the action, the giant wing scoring tries 8 and 10 in the remaining minutes, one of which was converted by Dale. In between, his fellow wing Matt Hakes scored a deserved try when he bamboozled the remaining defender to plunge over wide left. A 43 point 2nd half saw Cornish land the spoils by 67-18.

OT’s don’t train, have no coach, no physio and no 2nd team – in many respects they are very similar to our former opponents Old Wellingtonians, and it is no surprise to discover those 2 clubs have a decent relationship. They will have better days than this one, as when a club that doesn’t train finds its structure picked apart, there is often no plan b and scores like this can result. They will bounce back quickly from this defeat, and their mid term focus must be on how they sustain the club fielding only 1 team. They have strong ball carriers in their pack, a potent rolling maul, a decent lineout and some real wheels out wide when given room, but the real test will come when they pick up injuries in any number. They were a decent crowd post match, fronting up at Roehampton CC, and we wish them well with their season and with their continued club development.

This was a step up in terms of level of performance from Cornish, and the whole club was further encouraged by the results of the other teams on the day as they all won. The lead at the top of the league has extended to 8 points, but there are still 3 league games to the break and each will bring its own challenge so no rest yet!