Another game in which London Cornish did not manage to run their opponents close saw Hammersmith & Fulham deservedly land the spoils in a sometimes spikey match at the REMPF in bitterly cold conditions in London 1 South on Saturday. Cornish will once again rue their inability to take their chances when they came, in particular in the 1st half where they dominated for long periods with the wind at their backs but will managed to turn around 7-3 down.
It’s becoming boring repeatedly trotting out why more players are unavailable for Cornish as whatever team you field on the day is your 1st team, but to lose one this week to falling down the stairs and breaking ribs at home really sums it all up! To add to this, even the clubs Touch Judge has an injury and he was joined almost immediately by new Backs/2s Coach Ian Arnott, who succumbed to illness, though his impact will definitely be a positive as the season draws on.
Cornish played away from the clubhouse on the second pitch in the opening half and began very brightly, Niko Mirosevic-Sorgo held up just short of the line on 6 minutes. A couple of minutes later Hammers cleared the ball to wing Terry Gillam and he beat two on the outside before being tackled into touch in the visitors half. On 10 minutes and for one of the first times this season, Cornish took the lead when George Kimmins landed a penalty from the right hand side just outside the 22. A pattern began to emerge as Cornish landed a series of penalties, which they launched to Terry’s Corner but a series of lineout malfunctions once again saw possession coughed up and opportunities lost. Gillam was a constant threat in the first half, consistently breaking tackles and making good ground but too often he was not supported and his efforts came to nought. On 20 minutes a flashpoint erupted on halfway, though it was not clear for what reason. This seemed to fire up Hammers more than it did the exiles. Though Cornish repelled the initial assault that followed via an NMS penalty win for holding, it did not take much longer for the visitors to take the lead for on 26 minutes their Nordic looking right wing skipped through a series of weak tackles to angle in for a converted score under the posts. 2 minutes later and the home side lost a man to the bin for a tip tackle and on the half hour mark full back Mike Edworthy was injured making a last ditch tackle, Doug Chirnside on in his place. On 34 minutes and following a Joe Lynch penalty win, Cornish launched a furious 14 phase pick and drive assault on the Hammers line, James La Broy, Adam Wheeler, NMS, Ciaran Slater and diminutive scrum half George Jackson making ground to the shadow of the posts, but to their intense frustration they were pinged for holding. This cost Cornish NMS to a knee injury, Mark Osei-Tutu a like for like replacement both in terms of position and double-barrelled surname. With time almost up on the half, Hammers attacked once more and though they crossed the exiles line they were held up for the whistle to sound for the break.
Cornish once again began the half well, Conor Pearce fielding the kick off and Gillam again embarking on a tackle busting run before being forced out on half-way. Osei-Tutu, who was to show that his runout at Medway has blown away the cobwebs of injury enforced inactivity, also made good ground in these opening minutes and nearly fashioned an opening only for his side to be called back for a forward pass. Hammers used the wind far more wisely than their hosts in this 2nd period and they increased their lead with an unconverted try wide left on 46 minutes. They then added to that when their barrell-chested centre, a former Alhambra—Union RFC Kiwi whose only appearance of the season this appears to be, landed the first of 3 tries he was to land on the day, this one converted. Now 19-3 down playing into a very strong wind, Cornish were staring down the barrell themselves at this point. When the chips are down the decisions tend to go against you and so it proved on 55 minutes when the referee first missed a clear forward past then compounded the error by failing to register a player well in advance of a kick ahead, that same player somewhat sheepishly dribbling over the line for another converted try much to the hosts chagrin. Jackson continues to impress at 9 and following a Wheeler turnover and Fin Robjohn clean break Cornish once again had great field position but a loose pass was intercepted and the chance lost, Edworthy returning to replace the gallant Gillam who had run himself into the ground. Another Cornish attack from deep was lead by an unfamiliar attacking line break by Lynch, him linking with Dan Phoenix to take play well inside Hammers 22 where the visitors transgressed once too often for the referee who consigned a man to the bin. Lynch did not last too much longer as he took a knock to the head, Joel Williams on in his stead. In the final 10 minutes both sides threw caution to the wind, Hammers landing 3 converted tries to the exiles 1, La Broy the scorer for the home side (pictured) managing to power over from close range to the right of the posts, Kimmins adding the extras - from 26-3 to 47-10 in the blink of an eye, the aforementioned Hammers 12 landing his hat-trick!
Hammers are right in the promotion mix and are a side playing with tremendous confidence at present. They have potent finishers in their backline and play with real fire. It was great to see them and their entourage return for the post match and we look forward to the return in the New Year.
A couple of bright spots on the day for Cornish came off the pitch - one was the Middx RFU Long Service Award made to former President Mike Herring pre match – congratulations to him! The other was a decent group of former players from the 90’s gathering to watch this match and they were in no mood to let the result spoil their day – it was great to see them all and hear stories of yore. There is no short cut to reversing this slump – it has to come from hard work on the training pitch and an improvement of availability, these tending to follow one another. 3 games to the break will give us some idea of whether that shift has begun…