Despite an astonishing injury list of 24 players, London Cornish had enough dog about them to end Maidstone's mini revival with a late George Kimmins penalty at The Mote on Saturday in London 1 South. The 18-15 win lifted the exiles back into 7th place, and more importantly kept the relegation battle at a comfortable arms length. Whilst the whole squad can take huge credit from the victory, key to it were the performances of 3 of last seasons all conquering Championship winning team, as hooker Jake Slade, back row Nick Goss and wing Tom Jeffery returned from long term injuries to make a big impact on the cohesion across the team. Jeffery scored the 2 tries that gave his side the chance of the win, taking his tally for the season to 5 in the 6 league games in which he has featured, only 1 of which Cornish have lost.
The pitch at The Mote was a credit to those responsible for it, for despite torrential rain, it was in great nick with only a couple of patches requiring sanding. A sparse crowd had assembled, with a healthy smattering of black & gold supporters visible on the far side of the pitch from the clubhouse. The form lines suggested a home win, with Maidstone having won their last 2 and Cornish on a 4 match losing streak.
Both teams warmed up for too long for this key match, and with the clubhouse some distance from the pitch, the game didnt actually kick off until 3.06pm, Cornish playing away from the road. The home side nearly struck inside 5 minutes, but when one of their backs broke clean through to the line, a combination of Dan Phoenix and Rich Stephens forced a knock-on in the act of scoring. On 12 minutes, it was Cornish who nearly scored, a rolling maul seeing stand in no 8 Matt Hakes stripped of the ball as he plunged to the turf, also in the scoring act. The game was confined to the middle sections of the pitch for periods until Chris Smart broke a tackle on 17 minutes and when James La Broy drove to the 22, a final offload was knocked on as the visitors threatened. However, the exiles had the ascendancy now, and after battering away with a series of phases involving La Broy, Elliot Cave, Stephens and left wing Andy Hill, 2 long passes from Kimmins and Smart gave Jeffery the chance to turn on the power and dive over for the opening try, the conversion attempt sliding right of the upright but Cornish 5-0 up. 4 minutes later Maidstone won a kickable penalty, landed to reduce the arrears to 2, and within 3 more minutes, they had turned the game on its head. Their 10 found a prop to run beyond and then launched a grubber in behind the exiles d for the left wing to pounce and slide over for a converted try. Cornish had to respond quickly, and that they did, a barnstorming Joe Donnelly run taking play inside Stone's 22, where the 9 killed the ball and was given a yellow for the act, Kimmins driving the penalty between the sticks. Maidstone made one final attempt to add to their score, rolling a maul close to the line, but Cornish rarely concede to these tactics, and held them up to turn the ball over, the whistle going at the break with the home side 10-8 up.
The early part of the 2nd half saw the Stones on the offensive, but their 2 main tactics of the rolling maul and the inside pass from the 12 or 13 channel were now being managed. Both sides proved capable of half-breaks but could not land the final blow, knocking ball on or kicking ball away. The 2 packs slugged it out toe to toe down the heavier part of the pitch, both Cornish props Oli Low (who cleanly won 4 lineouts during the match!) and Mark O'Leary enjoying the full 80 minutes and involved in the close quarter carrying plenty. Gradually, the exiles forced play up the field, and Hakes skipped down the left flank on one occasion only for crossing to end the attack as Stephens and Donnelly flew up in support. Finally, on 58 minutes, a poor clearance kick landed in the arms of the Cornish skipper inside his own half. Needing no second invitation, he changed speed to accelerate through a gap on half-way, before releasing Jeffery on his way. The giant wing still had work to do, but he showed clean pair of heals to the cover and had the presence of mind to angle in towards the post, Kimmins adding the extras to give his side a 15-10 lead. Maidstone had regained the winning thread recently, and were not about to lie down. They came back with a series of attacks down the left flank, but on one occasion Smart pinched the ball on the floor inside the 22, and on another Jeffery forced his opposite number into touch at the corner flag for a try saving tackle with 9 left. However, Cornish lost a man to the bin with 6 left, and Stones took advantage, working room wide right for one of their replacements was on hand to plunge over, though crucially he was kept wide, and the conversion attempt went the way of the first exiles try, scored in the same spot, the scores now level at 15 apiece. With time running out, the London 2 South-West Champs needed to manufacture a chance to win the game. From a ruck on half-way, Stephens sniped blind and linked with Jeffery. When the wing angled slightly infield, Maidstone were pinged for not releasing. Kimmins stepped up, the kick no gimmee out to the right and slightly across wind. His kicking since he replaced his old tee has returned to its former high success rate, and now he proved it again, lifting a sweetly struck kick between the posts to give his side the lead at 18-15. With the referee indicating last play, the home side won the restart, and then won a penalty on half-way in the centre of the pitch. Aiming for touch, the home kicker struck the ball towards the left hand touchline, but Jeffery managed to get hands on it before it reached touch, ensuring the game would have no further late drama. Cornish had carried the day.
The Mote is a throwback to a previous era of rugby, with wooden panelled changing rooms and a whiff of 'oranges at half-time' about the place. It has seen both good and bad times of late, and Maidstone would probably count this season as one of the bad ones. They may not bounce back from this defeat before the season is out, but they will do in the future and we wish them well with that.
Cornish were understandably delighted with the win, snapping the losing streak and producing a decent performance to boot. They could kick on from here, potentially boosted by a few more of their key players returning to action. We shall see, as there are 5 more rounds to the seasons end.