London Cornish completed the double over fellow promotion contenders Old Reigatian on Saturday, and in doing so cemented their position at the top of London 2 South-West. This was a comprehensive win in which the league leaders were never behind, and demonstrated that the cobwebs of the festive break have now been well and truly blow away.
The exiles have been careful not to field players who are not 100% fit this season, the result of which saw hooker Jake Slade rested with a chest infection, Tim Homan returning after a long lay-off having proved his return fitness for the Choughs the previous week. Dan Leo returned at 6 and the scrum half berth was filled by Phil Dale, with Rich Stephens not risked and Ed Atkin unavailable. On the bench there was a recall for Sam Williams, who himself has had injury issues this season and who had also proved his fitness the previous week. The investment in drainage made by Cornish and by the WCC in the last 18 months at the REMPF and hard work by the groundstaff on the Friday meant that the game could go ahead on the main pitch where it would have had no hope last season, though the right hand side nearest the clubhouse was heavy underfoot.
It was apparent from the off that this was a far sharper Cornish than the one held at KCS the previous week, and it was no surprise when the league leaders hit the front on 10 minutes, open side Tom Ievers lurking out wide to finish off a sweeping move in the left hand corner. The try went unconverted, but Cornish held territorial dominance and threatened to break through on a number of occasions, Dave Funston and David Smith in particularly menacing mood. The home side lost a man to the bin for a high tackle before OR’s reduced the arrears from a penalty, and the visitors missed a couple more long range efforts following this as they sought to gain a foothold in the match. With the pack shunting the visitors at scrum time, and pinching a few against the head to boot, the home backs would be provided with a steady stream of ball to keep them interested in front of the biggest crowd seen so far this season. Cornish lost Mark O’Leary to a calf strain on 20, Oli Low a like for like replacement on ground he favours. On 36 minutes, and following a break from Funston and with the league leaders playing at a fantastic pace and tempo, the ball was worked to Smith on the 22. Chipping the ball in behind to the heavier ground, he sprinted past both the oppositon cover and surprised left wing Matt Hakes to pounce on the ball as it died in the in goal area for an opportunists try, improved by a great conversion from George Kimmins. 3 minutes later, and this time following a great interaction between forwards and backs from some way out down the right flank (Homan, James La Broy, Dale, Skip Craig Chatley, Harry Somers and Miles Rushworth all involved), it was Smith again going outside his man to cross for another superbly converted try by Kimmins. In the blink of an eye, the match was taken away from Reigatians who were suddenly 16 points behind, 19-3 down at the break.
There was no respite at the start of the second period, Funston making a mini break on 48 before offloading to Smith to break a tackle on the 22 and sprint clear to score the bonus point try and complete his hat-trick, Kimmins again striking the ball beautifully to add gloss to the score. Smith has now scored 16 tries in the 9 league games in which he has played this season, only failing to register a try against London Exiles when he came off injured. Continuing to dominate territory, Cornish made a couple of changes now, bringing off Dale and Leo for Williams and Nick Goss. OR’s were pinned in their half for a period, twice held up when in possession by Dave Theobald, and though the league leaders threatened, the visitors defence held firm for a period. Eventually they broke the shackles and finally gained some reward, one of their more diminutive backs plunging across the line just after the hour mark, though the conversion attempt flew wide. During this passage of play, Mark Osei-Tutu sustained what could be a nasty knee injury and was carried from the field, Leo returning at 8. Any semblance of a chance of comeback was removed with 10 minutes remaining when a Kimmins kick bounced into the arms of the supporting Smith, who angled toward the touchline before lassoing a wonderful inside ball to Rushworth arriving at pace on his inside, the wing displaying a fine turn of foot to sprint clear for the his sides 5th try, Kimmins completing a decent afternoon with the boot with another dead eyed conversion to take the score out to 33-8. Whether Cornish relaxed or the visitors upped their game, the match became more even from this point as OR’s benefitted from the home side falling foul of the referee for a variety of reasons, another yellow card seeing the home side play out the match with 14 men. Reigatians scored again 3 minutes from time when one of their backs sneaked over after they had repeatedly attacked the Cornish line, though this was also not improved. Williams sustained a rib injury during the attack, bringing Dale back on for the final few seconds. Though the visitors attacked to the end, a knock on 5 out gave the ball back to the home side to send to touch for the final whistle.
Reigatians promotion credentials are being fully tested at present, with tough games against Exiles and a rampant Twickenham next up, and they will need to respond to this 2nd successive league defeat to ensure their challenge has not come down with the Christmas decorations. As ever, they remain great company off the field, and their players and supporters continue to do credit to the club wherever they travel. Cornish will be delighted with both the performance and the result on the day, and are intent on fielding a strong squad for the forthcoming Cup match this weekend. The league campaign can be parked for now, as the lure of the twin challenge keeps training ever competitive!