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Sat 17 Dec 2016 · London 2 South West
1st XVWarlingham
Tries: M Hakes, M Rushworth, T Jeffery (2), R StephensConversions: P Dean, P Dale (2)
31
0
Cornish Collect But Warly No Walkover!
Dickon Moon19 Dec 2016 - 21:43
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12 In a Row and 10 Points Clear at Christmas!
Despite a determined and sustained rear guard action from basement team Warlingham, a much changed London Cornish landed the required bonus point win to ease 10 points clear at the top of London 2 South-West with 10 games remaining. It was by no means a fluent performance from the league leaders, but given the breadth of the changes the coaching team had made, that should not have been so much of a surprise.
With the mid season break pending and a vital January looming large, Cornish took the opportunity to change 9 of the previous weekends starting XV, which meant a full debut to the versatile Nick Goss at his preferred position of 7, and a debut off the bench for Andy Hakes, brother of 1s regular Matt and who has now played for all 4 of the clubs teams in this, his first season. The selection also saw a long awaited return for Joe Donnelly after a fractured bone in his leg. Cornish took the attack to their visitors from the off, but in a microcosm of the match, a blend of fine defence from Warlingham and poor execution from the league leaders meant that the scoreboard wasn’t bothered until the 10th minute, when Matt Hakes crashed over for an unconverted try. Though the visitors did not make it into the home half until the 22nd minute of the match, they held their lofty hosts at bay for a further 20 or so minutes, fuelling and being fuelled by the exhortations of their new and vocal Director of Rugby. Eventually, the pressure told when Miles Rushworth took a fine line off skip Craig Chatley to break clear (see picture) and score by the posts, his try converted by Paddy Dean. Despite having a dominant scrum with Jake Slade taking a series of strikes against the head, spilt ball in the damp conditions and a malfunctioning lineout saw plenty of good possession surrendered and a healthy crowd frustrated by the lack of continuity. Cornish turned round 12-0 to the good in gathering gloom.
The opening period of the 2nd half saw the increasing influence of Mark Osei-Tutu gain huge yardage for the league leaders, but on too many occasions Cornish tried to play dry weather rugby in wet weather conditions. With none of their normal big trucks in the squad, this less experienced pack would have to work it out for themselves. Once again, it was the final 20 minutes of the match that saw the exiles at their best, Tom Jeffery pouncing on a spilt ball on the hour mark to dribble across the line and score to the right of the posts, Phil Dale converting, him having come on for Dean at 10. Steve Wood took a knock to the head during the passage of play that lead to this score, so giving Andy Hakes the chance to make his debut and demonstrate that his ball carrying skills are also of use at this level. Four minutes later, and Jeffery was back for more, bursting tackles and driving over to the left of the posts for another try converted by Dale, this one securing the all important bonus point. A couple of the visiting lads will have been disappointed to buy the annual appearance of Dave Theobald's dummy, the tight head not used to finding himself in such space!Any thoughts that Warlingham would cave in at this point were ill-founded, for they redoubled their efforts and tackled like dervishes, the final score not made until the last few minutes when scrum half Rich Stephens simply walked around the blind side of a ruck to add a little gloss to the score, Cornish 31-0 winners on the day.
Warlingham have clearly identified ways in which they can make small steps regularly to try and take something from their season. This begins with becoming much more difficult to beat, and on this evidence they certainly will not lack for effort. Good luck to them and their supporters – they can hold their heads up high on this occasion.
Cornish took the opportunity to look at a series of fringe players and debutants, and will be pleased to have taken the minimum requirements of the bonus point win and no tries conceded. With 12 wins out of 12 and 58 points out of a possible 60 to this point, they are worthy league leaders, but will also know that tougher tasks await them when we all return to business in January.
With the mid season break pending and a vital January looming large, Cornish took the opportunity to change 9 of the previous weekends starting XV, which meant a full debut to the versatile Nick Goss at his preferred position of 7, and a debut off the bench for Andy Hakes, brother of 1s regular Matt and who has now played for all 4 of the clubs teams in this, his first season. The selection also saw a long awaited return for Joe Donnelly after a fractured bone in his leg. Cornish took the attack to their visitors from the off, but in a microcosm of the match, a blend of fine defence from Warlingham and poor execution from the league leaders meant that the scoreboard wasn’t bothered until the 10th minute, when Matt Hakes crashed over for an unconverted try. Though the visitors did not make it into the home half until the 22nd minute of the match, they held their lofty hosts at bay for a further 20 or so minutes, fuelling and being fuelled by the exhortations of their new and vocal Director of Rugby. Eventually, the pressure told when Miles Rushworth took a fine line off skip Craig Chatley to break clear (see picture) and score by the posts, his try converted by Paddy Dean. Despite having a dominant scrum with Jake Slade taking a series of strikes against the head, spilt ball in the damp conditions and a malfunctioning lineout saw plenty of good possession surrendered and a healthy crowd frustrated by the lack of continuity. Cornish turned round 12-0 to the good in gathering gloom.
The opening period of the 2nd half saw the increasing influence of Mark Osei-Tutu gain huge yardage for the league leaders, but on too many occasions Cornish tried to play dry weather rugby in wet weather conditions. With none of their normal big trucks in the squad, this less experienced pack would have to work it out for themselves. Once again, it was the final 20 minutes of the match that saw the exiles at their best, Tom Jeffery pouncing on a spilt ball on the hour mark to dribble across the line and score to the right of the posts, Phil Dale converting, him having come on for Dean at 10. Steve Wood took a knock to the head during the passage of play that lead to this score, so giving Andy Hakes the chance to make his debut and demonstrate that his ball carrying skills are also of use at this level. Four minutes later, and Jeffery was back for more, bursting tackles and driving over to the left of the posts for another try converted by Dale, this one securing the all important bonus point. A couple of the visiting lads will have been disappointed to buy the annual appearance of Dave Theobald's dummy, the tight head not used to finding himself in such space!Any thoughts that Warlingham would cave in at this point were ill-founded, for they redoubled their efforts and tackled like dervishes, the final score not made until the last few minutes when scrum half Rich Stephens simply walked around the blind side of a ruck to add a little gloss to the score, Cornish 31-0 winners on the day.
Warlingham have clearly identified ways in which they can make small steps regularly to try and take something from their season. This begins with becoming much more difficult to beat, and on this evidence they certainly will not lack for effort. Good luck to them and their supporters – they can hold their heads up high on this occasion.
Cornish took the opportunity to look at a series of fringe players and debutants, and will be pleased to have taken the minimum requirements of the bonus point win and no tries conceded. With 12 wins out of 12 and 58 points out of a possible 60 to this point, they are worthy league leaders, but will also know that tougher tasks await them when we all return to business in January.
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