It is scant consolation for London Cornish and their supporters that for the 5th time in the last 8 matches, the exiles went close to winning whilst playing well below par, making a hash of kicks and chances alike to gift their opponents the win. In this match, switched to the excellent facility at Imber Court, Cornish also conceded far too many penalties to Chobham, and in a tight game, the conversion of these proved crucial. The upshot is that the exiles find themselves in the bottom half of the London 1 South table for the first time since the opening month of the season.
Currently labouring without their first 4 hooker options through injury (though 2 of these will return to action in February), and without locks Harry Somers and Ben Ievers for much of the season (whose presence would release the powerful James La Broy into the back row), the set piece fluency that underwrote much of the unbeaten season is missing. With top try scorers Tom Jeffery, David Smith and last seasons Skip Craig Chatley also missing with injury, the club are really having to test their depth in this inaugral season at Level 6!
Steady rain meant that the ball was very slippery from the get go, but with their first sustained attack on 4 minutes Cornish scored, George Kimmins dummying his way through to slide over at the angle (pictured), though he was unable to convert his own score. When you are on a losing run, sometimes the breaks dont seem to go your way, and on 15 minutes a Chob kick over the top seemed to be covered by the exiles d, only for it to bounce obliquely into the arms of the only chasing attacker, giving him a simple score, this one also unconverted. 6 minutes later, the Surrey side took the lead when a sustained attack saw them score wide right, a great conversion giving them a 12-5 lead. Kimmins landed a penalty following a barnstorming La Broy run to reduce the arrears, but first Cornish lost a man to the bin for a team offence, then they missed a kickable penalty of their own, and finally on the stroke of half time in a pretty low quality opening period (particularly the kicking from hand by both teams) the visitors extended that lead again with a penalty, 15-8 up at the break.
Cornish made a tactical switch at half-time, withdrawing blind side Steve Wood, moving Matt Hakes from wing to 6, Steve Hill from 15 to 11, and bringing on Harry Buttery at full back. However, within minutes of the restart, wing Alex Gee pulled a calf, forcing the exiles to put Hakes back onto the wing, and Ali Springer coming on at 6. Frustrated with their inability to gain any fluency, Cornish now got on the wrong side of the referee, Chobham landing a short and long range penalty on 43 and 51 minutes, and then the home side losing another man to the bin for a team offence. At 21-8 down, in pouring rain with players playing out of position and having a man in the bin, you learn about your players. What followed was a 15 minute spell of real dog from the London 2 South-West Champions. On 57, Kimmins pounced on a loose ball down the left flank just inside the Surrey sides half. Stephens and no 8 Matt Chambers combined to send Hakes away with a slither of room. Hakes, who is running into form, showed a superb turn of foot to gas the cover and cross, arrowing in towards the posts to score, only for the ball to begin to roll off the tee as Kimmins went to kick the conversion, the extras missed. Back up to full numbers, Cornish dominated for a period, helped by a strengthening wind at their backs. Chobham defended stoutly, desperate to avoid a repeat of the teams reverse encounter when the exiles came back from the dead at half-time to win. Winning a series of penalties of their own inside the 22, Cornish elected for scrums rather than lineouts, but they met a brick wall of defence, until finally on 71 minutes Chambers burst through the 10 channel, and when downed 10 out, Stephens was on hand to angle through the retreating d and plant the ball down for his sides third try, well converted by Kimmins. Now only 1 point separated the teams, but Chob probably needed the win that little bit more, and in some senses the closing 9 minutes were their most impressive, for they kept their hosts at arms length for the rest of the match, Cornish never able to reach the visitors 22 in the remaining minutes. It was an ecstatic Surrey outfit who greeted the final whistle.
Chobham have had a nervy few weeks as some of the bottom 3 have found a bit of form. They probably need a couple more wins to be absolutely safe, but this win will go a long way to ensuring the 2 teams will meet again next season.
Cornish probably need 1 more win to reach the same goal, and with careful management of the 16 injured 1s squad players they are currently carrying, there should be enough ammo in the bank. In the meanwhile, the club have taken the radical step of firing Kimmins kicking tee - a huge investment has been made in a new one, which will make its debut this weekend!