Despite a significant improvement in their set piece play and a resultant improvement in their share of possession during the match, London Cornish demonstrated that they still have work to do to turn around their current run as they slipped to a 35-5 defeat at local rivals KCS Old Boys in Motspur Park in London 1 South on Saturday. There can be few complaints about the result, the key difference between the sides the more clinical edge of the hosts, though they too also left tries out there, one of which must be an early contender for miss of the season!
Though the match began in bright sunlight, heavy rain through the night and into the late morning meant the pitch at KCS was ‘soft, heavy in places’ with standing water on a fair few areas. Cornish played towards the football pitches in the opening stanza but were opened up on 6 minutes when one of the home back row sauntered through a gap on halfway and ran in to slide in under the posts. However, he completely misjudged the slide, slipping into the left upright and then being held up over the line by Matt Hakes as he regathered himself to try and score. KCS did not take long to fashion another chance, this time knocking on over the line after a chip ahead had seemingly given one of their backs a clear run to the ball. Finally, on 12 minutes the home side did land a score when a curious lack of a guard enabled one of their number to clear away for a try close to the posts, improved by their kicker who would go on to land all 5 conversions on the afternoon. Despite a series of wins on the floor by Sam Matanle, Cornish looked porous for much of the early part of the game as unfamiliar combinations tried to form a cohesive defensive structure on the hoof. A further Kings foray down the left wing on 20 minutes was only ended by a fine last ditch tackle by the exiles full back Mike Edworthy. Finally, on 22 minutes Hakes intercepted a long pass inside his own half in front of the clubhouse and walloped a kick to 5 out from the KCS line. Cornish stole the ball on the floor but were then pinged for holding, the opportunity lost. The exiles were frustrated through much of the match not to have been given due reward for a dominant game in the tight, Dave Theobald giving his opposite number a torrid time, which the lad could only counter by standing up or running round on the angle. On another day, this would have seen the exiles win a string of penalties of their own. On the half hour mark the exiles found themselves defending 5 out from their line and a missed tackle saw Kings drive over for another converted try. They should have added to this score too, but when one of their backs went for the line instead of using an overlap, he was brought down inches from the line by a high tackle. Remarkably, the arbiter awarded the penalty but neither a card nor a penalty try, which were surely merited. For the remaining minutes of the half Cornish found ways of conceding a series of penalties, marching them back to within a few feet of their line. Matanle pinched a lineout on one occasion and Adam Wheeler stole a ball on another to prevent further incursions across the line, this last one signalling the whistle for the break, KCS 14-0 ahead.
Cornish made changes at the break, Joe Lynch and Alex Davey rolled off to be replaced by Tony Pellow and the returning Niko Mirosevic-Sorgo. The early part of the second half saw Cornish pin KCS in the top left hand corner of the pitch, penalties gifting field position to the exiles. Whilst the lineout functioned well throughout this match with lock James La Broy finally available again alongside Joe Ferguson, Cornish simply couldn’t get their normally dependable maul moving, though Kings used every means possible to stop them and would ultimately pay for these discretions. Having weathered the storm for 10 minutes at the start of the half, KCS hit Cornish with the classic sucker punch when they demonstrated how a rolling maul should be finished with their first attack of the half on 52 minutes. On 56 minutes AML took a quick tap at a penalty and was brought down inside the 22 by a Kings player who had not retreated the full 10. Kimmins launched the ball to the same corner his side had attacked earlier in the half and another assault began. Twice in the next 5 minutes KCS lost players to the bin as they either pulled mauls down or flew up offside. On one occasion Cornish knocked on over the line and on another white line fever grasped the prize of a try from the desperate clutches of a Cornish ball carrier. There was a cost in this period too, Wheeler concussed and replaced by Davey. In a virtual repeat of the earlier passage of play, KCS once again broke out, once again had one chance and once again nailed it to land the bonus point and the game at 28-0, 10 left on the clock. Just when it seemed all hope of a score had gone, Dan Phoenix sent Kimmins through a gap, the Skipper hitting the line at pace to send a long pass to the waiting arms of the patient and hitherto underutilised Jamie Owen. The exiles free scoring wing has only played 1 other game this season, but here he demonstrated that he knows where the line is, crashing over wide right for a deserved but unconverted try. With time almost up, Cornish could be forgiven for attacking from deep, Mo Alothman and Fin Robjohn combining to send Matanle away, but when they were turned over a player flew up to effect an intercept, missed and then saw his team mate attempt a weary tackle out wide, the Kings player skipping free to dive over wide right for the try, the conversion bringing the curtain down on the day.
KCS are another in a pantheon of decent sides in London 1 South this season though we hope to have another crack at them again next season should they fail to trouble the promotion scorers! They were well worth their win on the day and were far more clinical when it mattered. Post match meal was top but whither the real ale fellas?!
These are tough times for amateur exiles clubs in London who do not have a junior section and Cornish are not alone in struggling in this strangest of seasons. However, availability continues to climb as a plethora of players return from injury and covid isolation, this evidenced by the renaissance in the 2s fortunes of late. Those returning need game time now and that clinical edge will return as the lads get match fit.