In conditions more akin to the French Riviera than Roehampton, London Cornish and Teddington fought out a pulsating and high quality match at the REMPF on Saturday, which the exiles eventually edged by the odd penalty to continue their gradual recovery from the injury plagued opening weeks of the London 2 South-West season. Few other sides in the division would have been able to cope with having had to use 32 players in their opening 4 league games, but the exiles have managed this and still seen their 2s win 2 of their 3 opening league games too, a great demonstration of squad depth. The visitors too have had their injury problems, and clubs should be in little doubt that there is plenty more to come from the British and European Team of the Year as they return to full numbers.
Cornish had been forced into a series of changes for this match, both Skipper Dave Theobald and fellow prop Hamish Cuming unavailable for the game. In addition, open side Andrew Preston had sprained his ankle running home from training (clearly didn’t put enough into the session lad!), and both the previous weeks centres were out with injuries sustained in that game, Ian Keith with an arm injury and Luke Spells with a hamstring strain. Cornish recalled Will Carew-Gibbs at hooker and switched George Johnson from hooker to tight head, gave a league debut to Chris Turner at 7, him having signed from Otley where he had played against Launceston in the Championship a few seasons back, and called Iain Short and Graeme Smeaton in at centre.
With the pitch in perfect condition, the exiles played toward the clubhouse in the opening period, a marked difference in the relative sizes of the two sides as Teddington are a big side all over the park. Both sides saw the weather as an invitation to try and play 7s early on, too many flashy offloads hitting the turf and no real pattern emerging in the game. Early home pressure following strong carries by Carew-Gibbs, supported by Smeaton and full back Nick Harlock came to nothing as the ball was knocked on, and early Antlers pressure was relieved by a huge box kick from exiles scrum half Tom Jacob. On 12 minutes Teddington manufactured a scrum inside the Cornish 22, but Carew-Gibbs pinched one against the head for a crucial clearance. On 14 the visitors worked room for their pacy right wing to outstrip the first line defence, but as he drew Harlock his inside pass was picked off by the covering Short , who took the ball into touch. At the lineout Ts worked their lumpy 6 into midfield in the shadow of the posts, but Smeaton won the penalty for holding on the floor for the ball to be cleared. With 17 gone the exiles won a penalty for holding after Bridgett and Heymann collared the Ts full back following a long clearance by McKeown. The skipper drove his kick from some way out against the left hand upright, from where it was knocked on by Antlers who won a penalty to clear at the scrum. On 21 minutes Cornish took the lead when stand in Skipper McKeown broke the line just inside the Antlers half and hit Harlock on a switch. The powerful full back needed no second invitation, speeding through the gap and fending off the despairing last ditch tackle to crash over to the left of the posts, his Skipper adding the extras. Working the ball to their right wing whenever they could, Teddington always looked dangerous on the break, but gradually the exiles back 3 of Harlock, Laurie Bridgett and Robin Heymann nullified the threat and the player began to knock the ball on rather than carry. On 29, no 8 Andrew McEwen drove at the heart of the Antlers defence from a scrum in his opponents half. McKeown drove on into the 22 and Ts were pinged smack in front for not rolling away, McKeown making it 8 kicks from 9 so far this season to give his side a 10-0 lead. At this stage, and despite having had some decent possession, the visitors heads visibly dropped, but they were given a needless invitation back into the game on 33 when backchat at a penalty allowed them to kick deep into the exiles 22. A set play saw an off the top move and a missed tackle was all it took for one of the visiting back row to canter over under the posts, the conversion made and the deficit down to 3. The final act of note in the half was a great line hit by Smeaton on 37, smashing into the Ts 22 only for the ball to be knocked on at the ruck, Ts able to clear their lines with the score at the break 10-7 to the hosts.
The exhausting heat had ensured water breaks at regular intervals during the game, and the fitness of both sides would be severely tested in the second period, both teams keen to throw the ball around to ensure a great spectacle for a decent crowd. An early score could be crucial in the second half, and the exiles got it against the run of play. On 44 minutes, Antlers were attacking the Cornish 22, but their 8 was again turned over on the floor, Smeaton again quickest to react, him sprinting out of the 22 and firing a long kick bouncing into the visitors 22. Heymann had been up in support and now he switched on his afterburners, outsprinting the cover and simply waiting for the ball to bounce up before collecting and touching down wide left for the try. McKeown drove a superb touchline conversion through the uprights to give his side a 17-7 lead. Once again, Teddington looked crestfallen, and their mood didn’t improve when their 10 kicked the restart dead. However, they haven’t raced through 62 straight wins without being resilient and now they upped their game. On 46 Antlers lumpy tight head hammered into the exiles 22, but was met by a robust tackle from Mark Osei-Tutu stopping him in his tracks. They built phase after phase probing for an opening before finally working a 3 on 1 wide left only to butcher it with poor handling. The referee had been playing advantage however, and the subsequent penalty reduced the arrears to 7. On 49, and with the vistors firmly in the ascendancy, they again worked from right to left across the exiles 22, only to feed the drift allowing Bridgett to launch his opposite number into touch. Cornish made a change on 50, Pete Calvert on at lock in place of Phil Ridsdale. Teddington continued to press but too often their passing lacked precision and was lost under pressure, Short and Smeaton working hard to close down their space in midfield. Finally, on 57 minutes Teddington managed to finish what they had repeatedly started in this second half, a move from depth. They broke blind on half way and worked room wide left. A slick interchange of passes between forwards saw their hooker race clear unchallenged to score under the posts, the conversion made and the match leveled. Within 4 minutes the pendulum of the match had swung completely, Cornish pinged for holding and the visiting kicker giving his side the lead for the first time in the match. Those watching would have thought that this would be the signal for the Antlers to stretch away now, but Cornish are such a resilient side and soon reversed the tide. On came Ed Good for Bridgett on the right wing, but he was mere spectator as twice on 63 and 65 minutes Harlock superbly returned long kicks with interest, only a last gasp tackle preventing him from powering all the way through on the second occasion. Back came Teddington, them frequently trying to use their 8 as a battering ram, but too often he tried to force the pass or was turned over on the floor, Turner and Carew-Gibbs a real nuisance to the big units on the floor. On 70 and from another great lineout take from lock Tom Stock and a snipe by Jacob, McEwen drove hard into the Ts 22 for the visitors to be penalized for offside. McKeown stepped up and calmly lifted his side level, the Cornish support audibly responding to their teams performance. On 73 minutes Carew-Gibbs again pinched a ball against the head, and as McEwen picked and drove down the right flank, Antlers were pinged for hands in the ruck. McKeown saw this long range effort fly just to the right of the posts. Now the game was end to end, Teddington back on the attack after a fine angled kick from their decent full back. Once again, they found Smeaton an impenetrable wall as he won a penalty for holding midfield on 76 after a period of Ts pressure. On 79 minutes, Cornish drove infield from a lineout, Johnson and Osei-Tutu driving into the visiting half, but as the latter hit the deck the ball was spilled, a penalty awarded for a player coming in from the side. This succession of penalties conceded now came home to roost for Teddington, McKeown took dead aim, launching a great pressure kick straight between the posts to regain the lead at 23-20. There was still time for Antlers to respond, and they again fashioned an overlap and again failed to use it, knocking on just inside their hosts half, that the final act of a pulsating match.
There was a period a few years ago when Cornish played a series of fantastic matches against Old Wellingtonians, both sides winning in turn and all of the games of a high calibre for the level. This game bore many of the hallmarks of that series, and though Teddington have found this step a far tougher one than previous promotions, their attractive brand of rugby and decent support are a great addition to the league. It was a shame they were unable to come back to The Telegraph post match, but we wish them well and will see them post Xmas. Cornish are steadily improving week on week, and will be announcing a few more additions to the squad in the next week as they seek to build yet more depth to the squad. None of their injuries are long term, so the portents for the season ahead are good!