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Sat 04 Sep 2021 ·  London 1S
Chichester
1st XV
50
15
Tries: G Kimmins, J SladeConversions: G KimminsPenalties: G Kimmins
Slow Starting Cornish Well Beaten at Chi!
Dickon Moon6 Sep 2021 - 15:31
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Concession of 80% of possession too much for visitors to overcome.
For the 6th time in the last 7 seasons, and the 4th in succession since they ascended to the dizzy heights of Level 6 for the first time ever, London Cornish lost their opening match of the league campaign, this time to Chichester by a resounding 50-15. This consistency highlights a disparity between clubs who pay and/or who are based on towns/cities and/or who have colts sections to feed into their seniors and those who are based on none of these things. For the exiles, heavily based on players whose family homes are not local to the south-east of England, are at the mercy of calls home for any number of reasons be it weddings, stag weekends, injuries or Covid calls, all of which affected availability this weekend to the tune of an astonishing 51 players. Lads only started moving up to the capital once the August date for lockdown easing had passed, so recruitment has been squeezed into a very short period and is still ongoing. This is one of the reasons the club has decided to build a minis over the coming seasons, to provide roots for a club with no ground, clubhouse or training facility of its own. It may appear an unequal struggle at times, but the club has steadily risen 7 levels in the last 20 years and this result will not halt that progress even though it may take a few weeks for the real London Cornish to stand up!
The longest trip of the season on the opening weekend saw Cornish head to Chichester with a side forced into playing many players out of position and against a competent and powerful home side, this was always going to be a tough assignment for the visitors and so it proved, Chi landing 7 tries to 2 for Cornish. With around 20% of the possession throughout, the exiles tackle count went through the roof and it is no surprise to report a steady stream of injuries saw concussions and dislocations alike, the visitors playing the last 25 minutes with 14 men.
The game began on the main pitch at Chi with the exiles playing away from the clubhouse in the opening period on a warm, sunny afternoon. The home side missed a kickable early penalty and, after a period of understandably disjointed rugby from both sides, the home backs fashioned a miss move on 14 minutes to send their centre thru under the posts for a converted try. Cornish had the chance to respond when 2 Chi players collided attempting to field the restart when they kicked a penalty to 5 out down the right hand side, but the lineout was lost and the danger cleared. A fracas took place on 20 minutes the result of which saw the home side eke their lead out to 10 with the pen and at this point it seemed all one way traffic. Cornish needed a slice of luck to get back in the game and on 24 minutes they gained it. Dave Chalkley knocked an attempted Chi pass to the ground on halfway and, while everyone at the game expected a knock on or worse, the referee saw it differently, allowing a sheepish George Kimmins to regather and canter over for a try under the posts he converted, the home side now 10-7 to the good. Shortly after this score Cornish lost a man to bin, this one a team yellow for the concession of a steady and rising series of penalties. On the half hour mark the Sussex side extended their lead following a scrum V, this one also converted and, with penalties gifting great field position, they added to this tally out wide on 39 minutes, though this was not improved. At the restart a long clearing kick was fielded in his own 22 by full back Chris Wright. The flyer stepped a tackle and dashed between 2 defenders over half-way. As he slewed to the home 22, he was taken down by what in NFL terms is called a ‘horse collar’ tackle, which swung him round and planted his face firmly into the ground. The match was immediately halted and half-time called while the 2 physios (tremendous work by both) attended to the stricken Wright who had been knocked out, the home side 22-7 ahead. An ambulance was called for the lad (happily allowed back home later that evening) and the match moved to an adjoining pitch already marked up for the recently finished 2s match, Jack Skerritt on at full back. Claude Springer, whose carrying had been one of the positives from the match was also replaced at the break with a cut to his face, James La Broy on at lock.
Shortly after the delayed restart, Will Carew-Gibbs won a penalty for holding on the floor, Kimmins taking his team into double figures with the kick. This score precipitated a series of further exiles changes as first Kimmins and then Chris Asembo were replaced by Nick Goss and Springer, Carew-Gibbs reverting to scrum-half and John Hughes moving to 10. With so many players now playing out of position, Chi took full advantage, crossing wide right for another improved try on 47 minutes and then finding no one home for an 8 pick up on 54 minutes for another maximum score, the game now up for the exiles at 36-10, Goss leaving the field with a badly dislocated finger at this point, the visitors forced to play out the remaining minutes with 14. For a period now, Cornish upped their game with Hughes frequently angling decent kicks in behind to turn the onrushing Chi d. For 7 minutes Cornish hammered away inside the home 22 and on the occasions when they were turned over, clearing kicks were sliced out, Dave Chalkley able to snaffle Ciaran Slaters arrows to guarantee possession and La Broy bringing his boisterous ball carrying to the party. Finally, on 64 minutes Niko Mirosevic-Sorgo combined with Carew-Gibbs to take play just short of the line for Jake Slade to pick up and burrow over for the try, though the conversion attempt flew wide right. From the restart Cornish chipped a kick on the angle over the top of the Chi left wing only for the ball to be spilt by the exiles with clear water ahead. The home side made their visitors pay for their profligacy in the 7 minutes of injury time added on at the end of the 80, though first Carew-Gibbs with a steal on the floor 5 out and then Sam Fieldwick with a howitzer clearance made them wait, 14 points added in those remaining minutes to put gloss on the final scoreline at 50-15.
Chichester and Cornish have always had a decent relationship off the field and the Chi coaching team were happy to admit that they were pleasantly surprised by their teams performance on the day. They are a young, powerful unit and will not roll over for many teams in the dry, fast conditions of late summer and early autumn. We wish them well, thank them for both their hospitality and flexibility in ensuring the 2s game went ahead and look forward to reviewing the season on the return in April.
In true Cornish style, whilst some teams in this league will be in a real hurry to get things right, the exiles will get there dreckly! There are likely to be a few weeks of significant changes to the starting XV as continual early season availability issues dog selection, but these will ease and a more familiar shape will emerge. The experienced coaching team behind the squad will ensure a measured response to this performance and have fun working on the myriad improvements required for the team to get competitive again!
The longest trip of the season on the opening weekend saw Cornish head to Chichester with a side forced into playing many players out of position and against a competent and powerful home side, this was always going to be a tough assignment for the visitors and so it proved, Chi landing 7 tries to 2 for Cornish. With around 20% of the possession throughout, the exiles tackle count went through the roof and it is no surprise to report a steady stream of injuries saw concussions and dislocations alike, the visitors playing the last 25 minutes with 14 men.
The game began on the main pitch at Chi with the exiles playing away from the clubhouse in the opening period on a warm, sunny afternoon. The home side missed a kickable early penalty and, after a period of understandably disjointed rugby from both sides, the home backs fashioned a miss move on 14 minutes to send their centre thru under the posts for a converted try. Cornish had the chance to respond when 2 Chi players collided attempting to field the restart when they kicked a penalty to 5 out down the right hand side, but the lineout was lost and the danger cleared. A fracas took place on 20 minutes the result of which saw the home side eke their lead out to 10 with the pen and at this point it seemed all one way traffic. Cornish needed a slice of luck to get back in the game and on 24 minutes they gained it. Dave Chalkley knocked an attempted Chi pass to the ground on halfway and, while everyone at the game expected a knock on or worse, the referee saw it differently, allowing a sheepish George Kimmins to regather and canter over for a try under the posts he converted, the home side now 10-7 to the good. Shortly after this score Cornish lost a man to bin, this one a team yellow for the concession of a steady and rising series of penalties. On the half hour mark the Sussex side extended their lead following a scrum V, this one also converted and, with penalties gifting great field position, they added to this tally out wide on 39 minutes, though this was not improved. At the restart a long clearing kick was fielded in his own 22 by full back Chris Wright. The flyer stepped a tackle and dashed between 2 defenders over half-way. As he slewed to the home 22, he was taken down by what in NFL terms is called a ‘horse collar’ tackle, which swung him round and planted his face firmly into the ground. The match was immediately halted and half-time called while the 2 physios (tremendous work by both) attended to the stricken Wright who had been knocked out, the home side 22-7 ahead. An ambulance was called for the lad (happily allowed back home later that evening) and the match moved to an adjoining pitch already marked up for the recently finished 2s match, Jack Skerritt on at full back. Claude Springer, whose carrying had been one of the positives from the match was also replaced at the break with a cut to his face, James La Broy on at lock.
Shortly after the delayed restart, Will Carew-Gibbs won a penalty for holding on the floor, Kimmins taking his team into double figures with the kick. This score precipitated a series of further exiles changes as first Kimmins and then Chris Asembo were replaced by Nick Goss and Springer, Carew-Gibbs reverting to scrum-half and John Hughes moving to 10. With so many players now playing out of position, Chi took full advantage, crossing wide right for another improved try on 47 minutes and then finding no one home for an 8 pick up on 54 minutes for another maximum score, the game now up for the exiles at 36-10, Goss leaving the field with a badly dislocated finger at this point, the visitors forced to play out the remaining minutes with 14. For a period now, Cornish upped their game with Hughes frequently angling decent kicks in behind to turn the onrushing Chi d. For 7 minutes Cornish hammered away inside the home 22 and on the occasions when they were turned over, clearing kicks were sliced out, Dave Chalkley able to snaffle Ciaran Slaters arrows to guarantee possession and La Broy bringing his boisterous ball carrying to the party. Finally, on 64 minutes Niko Mirosevic-Sorgo combined with Carew-Gibbs to take play just short of the line for Jake Slade to pick up and burrow over for the try, though the conversion attempt flew wide right. From the restart Cornish chipped a kick on the angle over the top of the Chi left wing only for the ball to be spilt by the exiles with clear water ahead. The home side made their visitors pay for their profligacy in the 7 minutes of injury time added on at the end of the 80, though first Carew-Gibbs with a steal on the floor 5 out and then Sam Fieldwick with a howitzer clearance made them wait, 14 points added in those remaining minutes to put gloss on the final scoreline at 50-15.
Chichester and Cornish have always had a decent relationship off the field and the Chi coaching team were happy to admit that they were pleasantly surprised by their teams performance on the day. They are a young, powerful unit and will not roll over for many teams in the dry, fast conditions of late summer and early autumn. We wish them well, thank them for both their hospitality and flexibility in ensuring the 2s game went ahead and look forward to reviewing the season on the return in April.
In true Cornish style, whilst some teams in this league will be in a real hurry to get things right, the exiles will get there dreckly! There are likely to be a few weeks of significant changes to the starting XV as continual early season availability issues dog selection, but these will ease and a more familiar shape will emerge. The experienced coaching team behind the squad will ensure a measured response to this performance and have fun working on the myriad improvements required for the team to get competitive again!
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