London Cornish overcame all the obstacles in their path to deservedly send Kent side Dartfordians spinning to a 7th straight league defeat at Bourne Road in London 1 South on Saturday, the visitors moving back up to 8th place in the league as a result of the 33-26 victory. Whilst the depleted exiles were by no means foot perfect, they produced enough quality at the key moments to keep the hosts looking for their first win in 2019.
A late reshuffle for the second week running saw Cornish lose back row George Shirlaw to a neck spasm on the morning of the match, former Lydney back row Adam Wheeler given a debut, and former Player of the Year Mark Osei-Tutu recalled to the bench for his first 1s involvement in 18 months following knee surgery. Wheeler, who had a fine game, will have enjoyed the fact that Darts play in a similar fashion to the Berry Hill sides of old, belying their lack of stature with dogged determination. Elsewhere in the squad, Harry Somers returned at lock, Caleb Gray at 9, and Jack Skerritt on the wing.
In similar fashion to the exiles, Darts 1st team pitch is out of action this season due to a drainage issue, so the game was played on their back pitch, which itself is decent surface in a natural amphitheatre alongside the railway line. On a dry, overcast day Cornish kicked off playing up the slope away from the clubhouse, and the visitors scored with their opening foray into enemy territory, Rich Stephens through a gap in midfield, before linking with Dan Phoenix who was downed inside the 22, Gray sending Kimmins over wide left from the offload, the Skipper converting his own score. From the get go it was clear the visitors had a significant edge in the tight, and this was to provide a steady stream of penalties through the match as Dave Theobald, Will Carew-Gibbs and Oli Low used all of their experience to put the squeeze on their opponents. On 11 minutes the hosts struck back when their 10 juggled a ball on half-way. As so often happens in these situations, the act of juggling saw him thru a gap, and he was only collared in the 22, quick ball recycled to send a prop barrelling over for the try, though it was not improved as the attempt slammed into an upright. Enjoying a period of territory, Darts added to their score on 19 minutes when one of their backs was guarded by 2 props on the narrow side, him sliding over wide left for a converted try. Responding to the double setback, Matt Hakes countered from his 22, and when he linked with Stephens down the right wing, only a foot in touch deep in the 22 prevented a scoring opportunity. The lineout was not won cleanly however, and when the home 10 juggled the ball again, he was smashed back over his line by James La Broy for a scrum V. Twice the scrum was reset as Cornish found their hosts disappearing sideways, but somehow Darts held on and after some 11 phases the ball was knocked on and the danger cleared. 5 minutes later the exiles were back, a penalty kicked to the 22, 10 out on the left hand touchline. Somers claimed the Carew-Gibbs arrow, and his side built another series of phases before Gray hit Kimmins, who dummied his way over for his second try just to the right of the posts, him again converting to regain the lead that Cornish would not relinquish again in the match. On a couple of occasions in this opening period Darts attacks were foiled when they went into contact when well placed, body positions simply too high and Somers particularly effective at close quarters. On 36 minutes Cornish countered from deep, but as the ball was worked to full back Dan Phoenix on the left, he fell awkwardly on a shoulder and had to be replaced, Rory Stanyard onto the wing and Jamie Owen reverting to 15. At the scrum, the exiles were pinged for breaking early and the home side kicked into enemy territory, only for David Chalkley to pinch the lineout. Gray sent Nick Goss through a hole, and he linked with Hakes to sprint clear until grounded 2 out, support arriving but Cornish held up over the line. Twice the scrum was reset as the visitors drove their hosts back, until La Broy drove close and Gray sniped over despite the attention of 2 defenders (pictured), Kimmins adding to the sucker punch with the conversion, giving his side a 21-12 half-time lead. Your correspondent was stationed behind the posts, and the bickering between the home players betrayed the pressure that they are increasingly under.
The exiles replaced Low with Jake Slade at the break, the inference being that more mobility would be needed as the game wore on. Darts were quickly out of the traps in the 2nd period, launching an offensive and winning a penalty, which they took quickly to send a lock tumbling over by the posts, the conversion reducing the arrears to 2. It was clear that the home instruction at the break was to avoid set pieces as much as possible, for any remaining penalties were tapped. This score seemed to galvanise Cornish, and now they launched a furious offensive on the Darts line. The home side conceded 5 penalties, all inside the 22 and 3 inside the red zone, 2 of which were at scrums and one of which was for a knock down, but the arbiter saw fit to keep his cards to himself. Eventually, on 52 minutes, Gray tapped and his pop pass to Somers saw the big lock break a tackle and twist his way over under the posts for a try his Skipper again converted. This score saw the return of Osei-Tutu for Chalkley, who could again be happy with his days work. For the next 10 minutes, both sides could be criticised for kicking aimlessly, the home side also forcing play despite plenty of time left on the clock. Eventually, Darts angled through a gap on half way and when a Cornish player failed with an interception attempt on the 22, he was binned. 4 minutes later, the ball was worked to a Darts back on the visitors 22, and when he clearly dropped it, he fly hacked on, saw the ball sit up to bounce into his arms, and claimed the try by the posts awarded by the referee, the conversion good, the deficit 2 again. Though fuelled by a seething sense of injustice, Cornish had seen the home side make enough errors to know they would have plenty of opportunity to extend their lead again, and they did not have to wait long for that opportunity to present itself. Running outside their 22, Darts spilled the ball under pressure in midfield, Hakes connecting with a healthy fly-hack and was then pulled back as he went in pursuit. No matter, for Stephens had hugged the right hand touchline, and he had the legs of the cover before brilliantly scooped up the bouncing ball to evade a despairing last ditch tackle and dive over for the match-winning try. The conversion attempt flew wide, but now there was a 7 point gap with 7 remaining. The drama continued, and when another clear knock on was ignored with 5 left, Ds walloped the ball upfield and regathered, but as they were tackled on the 22, they flew in off their feet in a desperate attempt to regain possession and were pinged. In the remaining minutes Darts, who has already lost a couple of players with injuries, lost their hooker to a very nasty looking arm injury and were yet again pinged for going off their feet (some kind of record for a team conceding multiple penalties but not losing a man to the bin). With the referee now indicating time was up, a Cornish forward standing in the tramlines (ok, it was Gibbsy!) went to kick the ball out but somehow managed to hit the only man between him and the touchline, a team mate. This gifted Darts one last chance to save a point, but try as they might they could not break through the gold defensive line, finally knocking on for the final whistle to sound.
Dartfordians have received plenty of plaudits for the way they play the game this season, but this was their 7th straight league defeat and 4th straight home defeat, and it plunges them deeper into a relegation battle to avoid the 3rd demotion spot, probably alongside Tottonians against whom they play on the final day of the season. They would probably take any kind of win to reverse the slump, but their young team will need to stick together to achieve that aim.
Cornish regained the winning thread with this bonus point win, having narrowly lost 3 games, 2 of which were against title contenders. They are still the only side to have beaten both leaders Sevenoaks and Westcombe Park together, but are also the only side to have lost at home to Havant, so it is tough to predict what to expect in the closing 6 game vignette. The squad size is building however, and that already bodes well for next season.