Another inept defensive performance, this one punctuated by a series of catastrophic decisions and errors, gifted Effingham their second bonus point win over London Cornish at Browns Lane on Saturday. That this was the exiles 9th away league match in their 14 league matches to date is scant consolation in this transitional season under new Head Coach Tom Sincock. The fact is that by shipping 6 tries, 5 of which came in the last 35 minutes of the match, Cornish have again demonstrated that they lack the strength in depth in certain positions to even be certain of survival in this division, let alone thrive in it.

Despite some uncertainty over which pitch would host the match, when the game began the pitch was soon forgotten. So was the exiles game plan in the first 2 minutes, a poor kick and kick chase providing exactly the opportunity that had cost Cornish the first encounter between the two sides, two phases all it took for a converted try to be registered following an angled kick in behind a fractured defensive line. Effingham rely on a simple game plan, pinning their opponents deep in their own half with a series of kicks, then closing down the space to try and force errors. This tactic having borne fruit in the opening minutes, it was repeated throughout the match, clearly with great effect. Despite a fine Jim Reynolds counter on 9 minutes, (him drafted in in the absence of Nick Harlock, Robin Heymann, Phil Francis and Tom Dorse, all injured at present), a malfunctioning lineout hampered the visitors throughout the opening half. On 11 minutes another clean break from a poor kick required an expert tackle and turnover by Tim Oakes to repel the raid. For the next 5 minutes close quarter combat saw Cornish drive upfield with a series of drives from Tim Homan, Pete Calvert and Oakes saw Cornish win a penalty following a dominant scrum inside the Es 22, which dead eyed Luke Spells converted. With lineouts for both sides something of a lottery (Ievers seemed to have the measure of the Es hooker on their throw), the game developed into a pattern with Es kicking and Cornish trying to run out of defence. This tactic fed into the hands of the Es back row on a heavy pitch, and a penalty for holding was sent wide on 22. Gradually, the home side began to dominate territory as their visitors tried to play far too much rugby in their own half, the boggy ground making clean breaks tough. Play became fractious with a few ‘afters’ involved until Es did land a penalty on 36 minutes to make the score 10-3. Cornish countered in the remaining minutes of the half, Dave Soar making a fine break wide right, well supported by Homan who was twice involved and by fellow front row Mike Bond, who remains in decent form, but as Es slowed the ball down in their own inimitable style, an exiles back became frustrated and was binned for an indiscretion, the whistle sounding on the break as the pen was kicked into touch.

Cornish knew that they had defended well up the hill, and began the second half in determined fashion, winning two penalties kicked to 15 out by fly half Rich McKeown. Ievers won the second and set up a rolling maul, which tanked inexorably up and over the line for open side Charlie Wapshott to claim the try, the conversion attempt wide but battle now seemingly joined. What followed was a catalogue of errors, beginning with an exile making a dreadful hash of a clearance in his own 22 resulting in conceding a further 7, continuing with a mishit chip being intercepted for a length of the pitch 7, a slip in the backline and dreadful attempt at a tackle shepherding in another 7, a sliced clearance being completely misread by an exile allowing the Es left wing to connect with a supporting player for 7, and finally an Cornish back simply throwing a kick over his try line for an Es back to simply pounce on it for the final unconverted try. A kamikaze 35 minute spell costing Cornish an appalling 33 points. In between times, Spells landed a penalty and late on replacement Mark Osei-Tutu benefitted from a pushover try for a converted exiles score. Cornish had created chances in this second period but too often the good work of the forwards was ruined by the backs. It wasn’t tough to know what to say on the final whistle – nobody deliberately makes mistakes but by the same token, you cannot expect to stay in a side capable of producing fine defensive work if yours is not up to it.

Effingham remain a place above the exiles after this and despite the result we were just pleased to play the game. Their coaching team were kind in suggesting that the ability for their side to train in the poor weather may have been a contributing factor, but that is twice they have thumped the exiles this season and training is only a small part of the difference.

This game demonstrated how much work by the exiles coaching team is required to build the necessary depth in the close season, and if he didn’t know before at least Head Coach Tom Sincock now knows the size of the task ahead of him! It has been an injury hit and fractured season for the exiles to date, but at least with 6 home games in the remaining weeks there is an opportunity to cement the league status. The hunt for a new training venue continues, since the behavior of the Wandsworth Council in cancelling 10 of the seasons sessions so far belies a complete lack of understanding of the sport, and you can expect to see a few personnel changes when the 1s next step out on the park as some long awaited returnees have been biding their time in the 2s!