A London Cornish side decimated by a stomach bug that has ripped through the side in the last week, showed plenty of spirit to battle toe to toe with title challengers CS Rugby in a feisty and physical encounter on the back up pitch at the REMPF in London 1 South on Saturday. The visitors demonstrated just why they are title challengers, overcoming a fully merited red card shown on the quarter hour mark to run out winners, albeit the match was a tad closer than it might have been once they had built a 20 point deficit.
The last few weeks have seen the exiles have to contend with an horrendous injury/illness list, and this weeks was about the toughest, 3 players dropping out on the eve of the match - Matt Chambers suffering a back spasm, Andy Hill failing a fitness test and Jamie Robert-Tissot unable to shake off the stomach bug. Others in the squad also had the bug, most notably Skipper George Kimmins whose participation was in such doubt Cornish had to bring along Phil Dale to the match as cover. All sides suffer at times with such issues, but when you only train once a week and the damage happens so late in the day, it really is doubly disruptive. Alex Gee came in on the wing for Hill with Chris Smart in on the bench, Nick Goss into the back row for Chambers, and Oli Low came in at the last minute for Robert-Tissot also on the bench.
Neither side was able to warm up on the pitch, but both would have been delighted to have seen the condition of the surface once they ran out onto it. Playing towards the clubhouse in the opening period, CS were out of the blocks far quicker than Cornish, demonstrating an appetite for close quarter contact, with their 2 and 8 particularly effective. They built a 15 phase attack on 7 minutes, and hammered their way into the home 22, before an utterly blatant case of crossing saw once of their backs waltz over untouched by the posts, the exiles furious at the try being awarded, the conversion good. 5 minutes later and they added to their score, a missed tackle all it took for their left wing to dive over wide left for an unconverted try. The CS 10 was red carded for an off the ball incident at this point, which forced the promotion hopefuls into a reshuffle. Cornish took a long-range pot at a penalty at that point, but this was unsuccessful. For much of the remainder of the half the home team were forced to defend, and this they did magnificently, the back row of Goss, Tom Ievers and Claude Springer (against his old club) demonstrating great technique and huge stamina as they manned the barricades. On the rare occasions Cornish did get the ball, errors and poor decisions saw the ball coughed up. One area in which the exiles did dominate (yet again!) was in the tight, Dave Theobald giving the CS loosehead a tough day at the office, and the only surprise was that the lad was only pinged for standing up on 2 occasions during the game as he was up and down like a jack-in-a-box all afternoon. It has to be said, the CS ball retention in wet conditions was a credit to their players, who barely knocked the ball on at all in the opening half. They grew frustrated that Cornish held their rolling maul at bay all afternoon, but the penalty count against the home side grew and grew until one of the home forwards was binned for not rolling away as the referee’s patience final snapped. This precipitated a furious assault on the Cornish line, but first Jeffery produced a fantastic last ditch try saving tackle on the CS flying right wing, and then a combo of Jeffery, Rich Stephens and Goss held the dangerous visiting 9 up over the line (right in front of your correspondent), until CS opted to take the points with one of their penalties to make the score at the break 15-0 to the Chiswick based outfit, both sides now down to 14 men for a period.
Cornish had defended so well in the latter part of the 1st half, the next score came as something of a surprise, the powerful CS no 8 breaking a tackle and clearing away to the shadow of the posts with the first attack of the 2nd period on 43 minutes, before a couple of phases enabled the same player to crash across the line wide left for an unconverted score. Where many sides would have capitulated at this point to usher in the Xmas party, the exiles did not. Buoyed by increasing dominance in the tight, and by the visitors continuing to rely on a failing rolling maul, Cornish gradually forced the balance of play away from their 22. They rang the changes to keep the team fresh, Low, Cave and Smart on for Mark O’Leary, Goss and Joe Donnelly. Having weathered the storm, Stephens, Springer and Dave Funston had an increasing influence on play, and gaps began to appear in the CS d. Where CS couldn’t shift their rolling maul, the exiles began to get theirs going, Somers and Ievers gaining clean ball at lineout time. Finally, on 69 minutes Cornish gained reward. It began when a loose clearing kick was worked to Gee on half-way. The wing broke a tackle and was brought down on the 10 metre line. Springer, Onwuka and Cave carried the ball deeper, before Kimmins hit Funston to straighten, then him sending Jeffery away to score wide right, Kimmins adding an excellent conversion after the ball had initially toppled off the tee. The extra man was beginning to tell, the home side now finishing the stronger, Jeffery so nearly on the end of a grubber in behind but the ball bouncing away from him and into touch. Pinned back in their half with 6 minutes remaining, CS hoiked a ball into touch just outside their 22. Onwuka hit Somers (who had another powerful and destructive day), and Cornish set a huge rolling maul, inexorably driving their visitors back until Cave was able to drive across the line for his teams second try, Kimmins again making it a max with the kick to give his side a minimum losing bonus point. The referee indicated 4 minutes remaining, but Cornish now sniffed the win. CS kicked long, and it took the exiles time to work their way up the pitch, drizzle having made a sticky surface heavier. Another Funston run set up play in the CS half, a series of punishing runs saw the visitors driven to their 22, but the ball was lost when a penalty was conceded and the visitors gleefully punted the ball into touch for the final whistle to sound.
CS are used to being able to bully teams in the tight and with their rolling maul, but on this occasion they were bettered in the former and stopped in the latter, forcing them to resort to plan b and plan c with the 14 men. They demonstrated that they have that ability and are a well coached and resourced club. They have fallen away post Xmas in the past, but they look set for the long haul this time around, and will certainly be up there when the prizes are given out at the seasons end. They enjoyed the post match festivities (even roping in one of their female supporters for the boat race!), and deserved them too for their battered, bruised and cut faces told the story of how hard they had to work to become the first team since Tottonians in 2013-14 to do the league double over London Cornish.
Cornish have reached the break in the season in 5th place in the league, with a 40 point haul. It could have been better, but it could have been worse, and with so many of last seasons squad, and a few of the pre season signings yet to kick a ball in anger this season, the break will enable the club to take stock of their depth. There is little doubt that LCRFC are enjoying their first ever foray at Level 6, and we look forward to 2018 with great anticipation.