Medway Make Best Use of Conditions as Exiles Slip Up!

Ultimately running out of fit players with whom to defend, London Cornish returned from their trip to Medway’s Priestfields HQ with nothing to show for their efforts as a last gasp converted try stole even the losing bonus point away from the exiles. The break week is well timed indeed for a club labouring without c30 players every weekend at present absent at the RWC.
On a blustery, dry day, Cornish began playing towards the car park in the opening half with a strong breeze at their backs and they were quickly on the board, Mike Edworthy breaking a tackle before clearing away and rounding towards the posts for a try he converted himself. However, with their first attack of note the home side levelled the scores when a miscommunication in midfield saw one of their number clean through, him drawing the last man before sending his 9 away to score under the posts for a converted try. 3 minutes later and Cornish had regained the lead, an Oscar Cruz arrow claimed by Alex Davey and George Jackson hitting Skip Adam Wheeler on an angled run against the grain to break a series of tackles and score in a similar place to the opening try (pictured), this one also improved by Edworthy, a mere 10 minutes on the clock but the exiles already 14-7 to the good. Medway were hampered by a misfiring lineout on a couple of occasions in the opening quarter, but Cornish were guilty of knocking on when well placed to even things up in a scrappy passage of play, though the first scrum of the match did not take place until 28 minutes had elapsed. On 31 minutes a couple of penalties and the injection of Fin Robjohn into the line saw the exiles win a kickable penalty, landed by Edworthy to stretch his teams lead out to 10. Whilst they hadn’t made best use of the elements at their back, Cornish would have taken a 10 point lead into the break but alas it was not to be. Conceded a scrum penalty for boring in, they were sent back into their 22 and when they sacked the maul, lost a man to the bin at which point a quick tap caught them napping and Medway crashed across the line to the left of the posts, the conversion closing the gap to 3, George Bromage taking a knock and being replaced by Pete Brogden.
The last thing the exiles needed at the restart was to give up the slender lead they had, but that is exactly what happened as they were again pinged for a technical scrummaging offence, the home sides kicker making no mistake from in front. They should have fallen behind on 53 minutes when the Medway kicker pulled a penalty wide left from bang in front, Will Heywood replaced by Ed Fink at this point. On 57 minutes, and with Francis Birch on the deck injured, Medway burrowed over for the try that gave them the lead, improved to take the score out to 24-17, Birch replaced by Ryan Abraham. When the home side butchered a try out wide on 58 minutes, the exiles sideline was beginning to look like an emergency ward, Edworthy off and Heywood returning, Wheeler moving into the backs. Gradually finding some continuity in their game, the exiles made progress up the pitch to try and close the gap, Ciaran Johnston making a dart up the pitch on 67 minutes and winning a penalty for offside, the scrum half injured in the process and having to move to the wing for Jackson to step into his favoured role. From the penalty, Dan Phoenix made a break into the 22 and won another penalty, Will Drake claiming the lineout but the ball lost forward in the maul to huge frustration all round for the visitors. However, the exiles stole the ball against the head only for a poor pass to be knocked on and the danger cleared. With 5 on the clock the referee pinged the home side for backchat and Cornish kicked the ball to the 22 down the clubhouse side, only for the lineout to be lost and with it the last chance the exiles would have to close the gap. With time up Medway went down the short side targeting the exiles injured players and a slick interplay sent one of their number clear to the posts for the 7 points that took them clear, winning the game by 31-17.
Medway are a different outfit from the one that went up from London 1 South a few seasons back, but clearly retain plenty of ability amongst their ranks and will be a tough nut to crack at their home ground. Great hosts as ever, it was a decent post match and we look forward to the return.
The exiles simply don’t have the depth at present to cope with the number of injuries they suffered in this match, but will be disappointed both not to have scored more points in the first half and to have failed to execute a few more times when they had the chances in the second. The week off is well timed as they look to bounce back.