London Cornish lost a ding-dong battle in London 1 South at London Irish Amateur at Hazelwood on Saturday by virtue of conceding way too many penalties throughout the match, the total run up in excess of double figures in both halves. The upshot was that, despite a vastly improved performance, they ultimately gave their hosts far too much territory in an absorbing but flawed match that could have gone either way. In the end the visitors were thankful that Irish pulled a last play of the match penalty wide of the posts from out in front, which would have deprived Cornish of their losing bonus point.
The game began on an immaculate pitch in drizzly conditions, Cornish playing towards the Thames in the opening period, Irish piped onto the pitch under floodlights. Both sides had been forced into countless changes from their sides the previous week and this was evidenced by the error strewn opening, line out throws not straight, balls knocked on plus no end of technical infringements throughout. After a spell of non-descript rugby played out in midfield, Cornish threatened first on 7 minutes when fly-half Dan Phoenix went blind on half-way, arching between two defenders and then passing to Terry Gillam on his outside to chip ahead into the 22, though Irish did well to rectify the situation and clear their lines. On 10 minutes a Joe Ferguson lineout claim saw Cornish roll a maul into the 22 but as the maul hit the turf they were first pinged for holding and then for not retreating. This signalled the end of the match for the home outside centre, who we gather has suffered a nasty ACL injury from which we wish him a speedy recovery. Further penalties saw the visitors retreat to 5 out down the right flank on 13 minutes and, though Irish missed their man at the lineout, the ball fell kindly and one of their props was able to break free for an unconverted try. A few minutes later and Cornish were again pinged for going off their feet when well placed but a great defensive set ended with the ball being kicked to Fin Robjohn, who returned the kick with interest. Skipper George Kimmins was next to make a break on 24 minutes and when Cornish won a pen for not rolling away and kicked to the 22 down the left hand flank, an errant lineout saw the opportunity wasted. When a Sam Fieldwick tackle forced Irish into touch, Cornish launched an offensive off the back of a Conor Pearce lineout take, the ball worked to Robjohn to send a grubber deep into enemy territory. The home side were pinged for playing a man in the air at the lineout, but the penalty attempt from wide out flew to the left of the posts. However, one area in which Cornish had dominance throughout the match was in the tight, Joe Lynch and Jake Slade’s return key alongside Tony Pellow. On 33 minutes Cornish shoved Irish clean off their own ball winning another pen in the process and this time Phoenix made no mistake to reduce the arrears to 2. For the final minutes of the half, Irish hammered away in the shadow of the visitors posts but were once again penalised at a scrum for the whistle to sound at the break, the home side 5-3 ahead.
An early score for either side early in the 2nd half could prove crucial in such a tight game and so it proved. On 44 minutes and on the far side of the pitch from your correspondent, Irish scrambled over for a superbly converted try. This brought changes for the black & gold, Ciaran Slater and Mo Alothman on for Pellow and Fieldwick. On 50 minutes, when a Phoenix bomb was spilt by the Irish wing just inside his half, Cornish won a penalty for a high tackle as they pounced on the ball. A great kick pushed the home side deep into their 22 and when the lineout landed in Slaters arms he drove close to the line. Slade, Lynch and James La Broy tore into the home d, Cornish winning a penalty and electing for a scrum. With AML marshalling his pack, the home side was driven inexorably back and splintered to allow Adam Wheeler the chance to pick up and score, Phoenix adding the 2. 7 minutes later and Cornish had the lead when Kimmins made a half break and the home side was pinged for hands in, Phoenix converting from some distance. What followed was one of those periods when coaching teams want to tear their hair out! At the restart Cornish went off their feet to present the 3 back to Irish; 5 minutes later Irish were at fault for offside at a ruck for Phoenix to retake the lead at 15-16; 3 minutes later and Irish win a series of penalties all of which are kicked for lineouts close in. Just when it appeared Cornish had weathered the storm, the home 9 found a smidgeon of room to wriggle through for a converted try by the posts, Irish now 22-16 ahead with 7 minutes on the clock. Try as they might in the remaining minutes, Cornish could not fashion decent field position despite a late Matt Hakes blind side dash and worse was to follow for at the last play, they coughed up one last needless penalty smack in front of the posts just outside the 22. On this occasion luck was on their side as the Irish kicked hooked the ball to the left of the posts, his side the victors by 6 points.
After a couple of seasons up in the higher echelons of the grassroots game, London Irish Amateur are settling into life in London 1 South and appear well suited to it. They were brutally honest after the match and are happy relying on bringing through colts to plug any gaps in their squad these days. They are great hosts and bring something different to the league – we look forward to returning their hospitality in the return and possibly next season too depending upon the league reshuffle (no relegation means this is a two season season!)
Cornish will reflect on the need to massively improve their discipline to ensure they return to winning ways as this was not a case of getting on the wrong side of the referee as much as it was conceding brainless penalties. One plus was that no additional injuries were suffered during the course of this game and the numbers back in action continue to increase with each passing week - just as well; 4 games in and already no ever presents!