A thoroughly committed and clinical performance by a hugely motivated London Cornish saw the exiles land their first ever win at the Oakfield HQ of Essex side Thurrock RFC in London 1 South on Saturday. With winds gusting to gale force, driving freezing rain and hail at an angle across the pitch, Cornish showed granite resolve to shut out their hosts in the first half, then hold them at arms length against the elements in the second.
When your correspondent arrived at the ground some 2 hours before kick-off, the main pitch was in no fit state for a rugby match, covered in puddles and clearly waterlogged. No-one knows their own pitch like the groundstaff however, and the Thurrock groundstaff were onto theirs as soon as the rain relented, working right up to kick-off to produce a totally playable surface. Great credit must go to them for getting this match on. The visitors noted that the last visitors here were league leaders Havant a couple of weeks earlier in similar conditions, and they were turned over, so any kind of result would need to be hard earned. So it proved!
The previous weeks win had been at some cost to Cornish, none of Mark O’Leary, Jake Slade, Adam Wheeler, Chris Wright or Ryan Webb recovering in time from injuries suffered in that game, whilst Matt Chambers and AML were unavailable.. The exiles have spent the season building greater depth, and were able to call on Oli Low, Tony Pellow, Joe Beech, Will Carew-Gibbs, Sam Matanle, George Kimmins and debutant Ben Lines for this one.
Playing away from the treeline in the opening half with the wind just about favouring them as it blew in over the top of the grandstand, Thurrock launched the kick off low and hard straight into the grateful midriff of Pellow, who set off up the field. There the exiles stayed for the majority of the opening phases, until Matt Hakes was tackled without the ball on 8 minutes, Dan Phoenix producing an excellent kick across the wind between the posts from some way out. Better was to follow, for on 14 minutes, Skipper Ed Carne took a quick tap on half-way, and set off towards the 22, sending Robbie Mackay into space on the angle towards the left hand corner flag. Mackay still had plenty to do, but he is an out and out finisher, him beating the cover to cross for the try a few feet in from touch, the score not improved. A couple of minutes later, Thurrock kicked a penalty deep into the exiles 22 down the left hand side but, in what was to become a key feature of the match, Dave Chalkley took a clean steal at their throw and the danger was averted. They added to their sense of frustration when a kickable penalty blew to the left of the posts on 18 minutes. Cornish began to take the game to their hosts close in, and a couple of the T’s forwards took knocks at this point, one of their front row replaced. Cleverly weighted kicks in behind by Phoenix, Kimmins and Hakes kept turning Ts round, and it was from a turnover on 27 minutes that one of these paid dividends. Carew-Gibbs stole the ball just inside his own half, and Phoenix had spotted all of the cover up in the attack, launching a long kick, which rolled towards the line. As Hakes flew past the cover, one last desperate attempt to impede him made him go the long way round and, when the Ts back then launched himself at the ball, he only succeeded in helping it over the line, where Hakes was perfectly positioned to dive on it for a try (pictured) converted by Phoenix. Suddenly the exiles were out to 15-0 lead and in some control, though under pressure in the tight. Thurrock thumped the restart out on the full, then lost their next 2 lineouts to clean steals from Chalkley and Beech. This gifted decent possession to Cornish, and Mo Alothman’s break on 34 minutes was supported by Carew-Gibbs, who launched a twisting, barrelling run to the 22, but the offload was knocked for the moment to pass. With the wind now reaching new levels, Thurrock twice elected to tap and go in the closing minutes, mindful of how little ball they had won at the lineouts. They went through a series of phases until they worked their way into the 22, but when they got there it was Carne leading by example, standing strong over the ball to win a penalty for holding. Cornish kicked it dead to signal half-time.
Now with the wind slightly favouring the home side, Cornish would have to work doubly hard to gain field position. From early on in the 2nd half, it became apparent that T’s no longer trusted their lineout, and repeatedly elected for scrums or taps when winning penalties instead. T’s early pressure was ended when Phoenix intercepted on 47 minutes, and his clearing kick saw the home full back collared inside his half. Back came Thurrock, driving play to the shadow of the posts, but they knocked on in midfield under pressure from Carne, Kimmins finally clearing the ball outside the 22. Finally, having battered away for 5 more minutes, T’s worked room wide left to send their wing diving over for an unconverted try to give them a foothold in the match. In a mirror image of what happened in the first half, now it was the Cornish restart that drifted out on the full, though a combination of Beech, Matanle, James La Broy and Joe Lynch prevented T’s from making too many yards, the ball kicked away for Jack Skerritt and Mackay to drive play back upfield. With Phoenix mixing up grubbers to keep the home d honest, Cornish gradually began to move the balance of play into T’s half. On 65 minutes, one of these grubbers took play to the home 22. The visitors replaced Alothman with Lines at this point, him making his debut. When Thurrock hurried their clearing kick, Cornish had the field position they craved. With freezing rain now driving across the pitch, the lineout landed on the exiles side, Matanle, Lynch and La Broy making thrusting runs deeper into the home 22, then Carne and Matanle again breaking tackles to take the ball within a stretch of the line. Quick ball saw Phoenix and Kimmins combine to send a long ball to Mackay, who stepped inside and crossed to round near the posts for the key moment in the match, Phoenix driving the conversion over before the ball had time to change its mind. At 22-5 up with 13 left and the conditions deteriorating fast, it would be a tall order for T’s to turn this round. They continued to dominate in the tight in the remaining minutes, their 8 a constant nuisance always making the gainline. Replacing Theobald and Chalkley with Low and veteran former Surrey county lock Pete Calvert was meant to steady the ship, but the former was binned at the first scrum less than a minute after coming on for a team offence! The pattern of the match continued, with each side dominant in one facet of the set piece, which prevented either from being able to gain any continuity. Cornish held out until the final minute, racking up a huge tackle count with both 14, then 15 men. With the referee indicating final play, T’s managed to squeeze their right wing over wide right in the final act, the conversion attempt flying well wide. Cornish had deservedly gained the day.
As well as having great groundstaff, Thurrock RFC continues to be one of the most welcoming post match venues on the circuit, a credit to all involved. The club have moved ahead with plans to develop the site further, a school and new changing facilities under development already. Who knows where the 2 clubs will end up next season, but we will be the poorer for not playing T’s if that’s how it ends up. We wish them well with the remainder of their season.
Cornish lost the corresponding match by a country mile last season, and resolved to put that right on the next visit. This performance was as good as any on the road in recent seasons and, with a couple of weeks break now before the action recommences, the exiles enter the run on the back of 4 wins in 6 matches. They will need more yet!