On a still, dry day at the REMPF, promotion contenders Camberley cemented their place in the top few with a comprehensive 6 try to 1 victory against their ailing hosts London Cornish in London 1 South on Saturday. Whilst Cornish once again had to make late changes, this time due to Track & Trace forcing morning of the match withdrawals, the exiles can at least point to the fact that this is the first week during which they have not suffered any broken bones! There were full debuts for the former Newton Abbott RFC pair Alex Davey at 6 and Mike Edworthy at 15, a first start of the season for open side Sam Matanle, him the first of the broken bones to return and a remarkable return to action for wing Jamie Owen who answered the 11th hour call, him having semi-retired and also not played this season. His last match had seen him land a hat-trick against Cobham on this very ground at the end of the truncated 2019-20 season!
Playing away from the clubhouse on the second team pitch, which had recovered remarkably from being a lake 72 hours previously, Cornish were quickly on the defensive due in the main to the continued lack of locks forcing the club to continue to field lightweight and short packs. In a match where the first scrum did not occur until the 20th minute and lineouts occurred every few, the home side were forced to put in some defensive shift to keep the score as low as they did. 5 minutes in, lineout lost, Cam forward onto it in a flash and over for a try, which was given as converted though looking suspiciously like it flew wide of the near upright! 8 minutes in and a high tackle saw Cornish pinged and the score stretched to 10-0 to Cam. With their first attack, the exiles opened their account when a Fin Robjohn break was supported by Skip George Kimmins, a similarly high tackle seeing a penalty also converted. On 17 minutes an exiles back flew out of the line to attempt an intercept but in missing it created a 3 on 1 for the visitors to extend their lead with another unconverted try. On 2 more occasions on 18 minutes and 23 minutes Cornish forced Cam into touch inside their 22 but lineout malfunctions saw the danger cleared. On 26 minutes Joe Ferguson and Adam Wheeler combined to take play into the Cam half, Kimmins again on hand with a barnstorming run taking play to the 22 only for the ball to be lost forward at the ruck. This cost the exiles for hooker Jake Slade was injured and replaced by Ciaran Slater. On the half hour mark Wheeler won a pen for holding but when the kick found Terry’s Corner, the key lineout was lost and the ball cleared once again. Just when it seemed all the exiles efforts were to no avail, some loose Cam backchat gifted the home side a penalty from bang in front, Kimmins reducing the arrears to 15-6. 4 minutes later and Cornish conceded 2 quick penalties – Cam kicked to the corner then peeled off a moving maul to crash over under the posts for a converted try, a clear mismatch in the power of the two teams. There is spirit in this Cornish side however and when they won a lineout and set their own maul on 38 minutes, the returning Owen stepped in at 9 to spin the ball to Robjohn on the 22. His arrowed pass was skilfully flicked on by debutant full back Mike Edworthy to the waiting arms of Matt Hakes, who arrowed outside his man to slide over for a well constructed try. Though not improved, the try put gloss on the half-time score at 22-11 to Cam.
In the early part of the 2nd period, Cornish were imbued by sharp running from Wheeler, AML and Matanle, but twice more on 46 and 48 minutes key lineouts were lost when the side was well placed. This profligacy was always going to cost the exiles against the more clinical sides and it took a bullocking run by one of their props for Cam to make the next incision on 51, this followed up by one of the visiting locks who was able to free up his arms and plant the ball over the line for a converted try. With alarm bells now ringing every time Cam had a lineout, Cornish conceded 3 quick penalties in the 22 around the hour mark and on the third of these were hit by the double whammy of conceding a penalty try and losing a man to the bin. Sensing their moment, Cam won a penalty at a scrum then kicked to the corner to repeat the dose on 69 minutes, crashing over for another try not improved this time. A few minutes later a raking kick by the visitors was bravely fielded by Owen who appeared to get a boot to the face for his trouble, though the referee was unsighted and actually pinged Cornish for holding. This time the maul from the pen and subsequent line out was held, and when Cam flung the ball across the midfield they grassed it. Mo Alothman was first to react, flyhacking the ball up the left wing where replacement scrum-half John Hughes kicked on. As Hakes hugged the touchline he flew past everyone until a cynical sliding football style tackle chopped him down mid run. The referee must have considered all his options but went for the yellow, which had the effect of ending the lads afternoon early. Winning the subsequent lineout on the Cam 22, Cornish saw Robjohn fly through a gap then win a penalty 5 out after Owen had angled infield in support. Just as they seemed to have created an overlap, the exiles were pinged for crossing to the great frustration of a well watered support bolstered by those celebrating the tenure of former LCRFC Club President Mike Herring. There was no time for much more action and Cam had deservedly carried the day by 41-11.
This game flew in the face of recent encounters between these two clubs, which have rarely been settled by more than one score either way. They will not lose many times this season and any teams that manage to finish above them will be right in the promotion shake up – the two clubs enjoy their battles on and off the pitch but it may be a while before Cam are back to the REMPF again. We wish them well with their season and look forward to the return.
Cornish are enduring all manner of means through which players are unable to play matches at present and the Covid calls are just the latest. It says much that the club has fielded 2 teams on every occasion required so far this season and this was actually not a bad performance given the circumstances. In truth, the very fact that we are playing our beautiful game at present should supersede any issues around results just now – far rather play and lose than be confined to quarters unable to play at all!