Colfeians Intercept Cornish Ambitions!

When it gets to the point that you are looking out for score updates from Regional 2 North East, you know you are in the territory of ‘needing snookers’ to stay up. So it proved on Saturday, when a combination of the defeat London Cornish suffered at the hands of Old Colfeians in Regional 2 South East, the results elsewhere in that division and the comprehensive wins by Old Crossleyans at home to Malton & Norton and Scarborough up on the hill at home to Glossop in that Northern league meant that the exiles could neither catch the 10th placed side in their division nor the highest points total of the sides chasing the ‘Jersey Reprieve’. So, after a 7 season stay at the highest level the club has ever achieved, a 4th different division in the past 4 seasons beckons for Cornish in 2024-25 in the shape of the Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex league, more of which later.
Cornish opened up playing away from the clubhouse on the second pitch at the REMPF, pristine in their change gold strip. All the early pressure came from the visitors, and they were aided on 8 minutes when a clothesline tackle saw an exiles consigned to the bin by the referee, on exchange from Scotland. Far too often in these early exchanges Cornish found themselves pinged and lost territory, relying on the work on the floor of Skip Alex Davey to win pens, but on 12 minutes former Redruth back Ben Boorman chipped ahead down the left flank and was body checked, the penalty offering a kick wide out, which fell well short. On 17 minutes the Kent side had their own penalty chance from bang in front on the 22 and made no mistake. On 20 minutes from a scrum just outside the visiting 22, Cornish fashioned a 12 phase series with Fin Tweedie, Pete Brogden, David Chalkey (twice), Dave Theobald, Ed Fink, Tony Pellow, Robbie Mackay and George Bromage all involved until Mike Edworthy hit George Kimmins to arrow between 2 defenders and stretch over for a great team try wide left, though the conversion attempt flew narrowly wide. A few minutes later Colfeians attacked after a chip ahead bounced awkwardly into the home 22. As they rumbled to the red zone, the exiles saw a front row tackle a man then get pinned on the floor as a visiting lock knelt on him. The referee collared him for not rolling away, then produced a yellow, the second the lad had received and therefore a red followed. To add insult to injury, a few phases after they had elected for the scrum from the penalty, Colfes squirmed over by the posts to take back the lead with a converted try, 10-5. They very nearly added to that score in the closing minutes of the half when a wide cutout pass sent their left wing into clear water but a fine covering tackle by Bromage forced the lad into touch at the corner flag, so that remained the score at the break, Cornish having been forced to withdraw Tom Webb to bring on Rory Ling at prop to ensure they were legal at scrum time.
After repelling sustained pressure from Colfes at the start of the 2nd half, driven on as they were by a series of lump forwards who Cornish had hoped to tire out with possession, the exiles launched their own attack on 53 minutes. They worked the ball to Brogden to bash a hole in midfield on the visiting 22, then went wide only for the visitors to pick off a cut out pass and run the ball to the house at the other end of the pitch, wrongfooting the cover completely, the conversion taking the lead out to 12 when it had seemed threatened. This score infuriated Mackay more than anyone, and now he produced a one man wrecking ball of a run, weaving a path from halfway to the shadow of the posts, seemingly felled but up and shrugging off would be tacklers this way and that. When he did hit the turf, Tweedie and Edworthy went blind and sent Osei-Tutu into space to apparently score out wide, but the referee saw otherwise much to Cornish consternation, even a couple of the visiting backs admitting they felt it was a try. However, Chalkley pinched the subsequent lineout, a Pellow rumble was followed by a Tweedie snipe to dive through a tackle and plant the ball over the line, Edworthy adding the extras to reduce the arrears to 5 again. Sensing the closing danger, Colfes upped their game again, taking a penalty on offer to stretch the lead back out to 8 with 15 left on the clock, Cornish guilty of falling off a few tackles to gift their visitors good field position. The crucial score came just 10 minutes from time, the exiles outnumbered out wide for Colfes to execute well for another converted try, the hosts now 27-12 behind. When they did secure decent ball at a scrum on 73, they worked an overlap but the looped pass was behind the runner and knocked on. Giving it everything, back came the exiles, Ling and Brogden combining to take play to the shadow of the Colfes posts, but once again a visiting back gambled and picked off an intended pass to run the ball all the way home from 5 out from his own line, another 7 point kick in the guts for Cornish. With time almost up, Kimmins made a break into the 22 and Mackay did what he had threatened to do all afternoon, beating defenders then carrying a couple over with him to score (pictured), the missed conversion the last act of the match.
Colfeians were well worth their win, a decent set of backs bolted onto a powerful pack. They also all came back to the post match, which was well joined by players and spectators alike. We wish them well in the closing weeks and are sure they enjoyed their visit!
There are plenty of initiatives under way to ensure Cornish are well prepared for the season ahead, but the likely demise of both them and Cobham is worth a review. Both teams have been moved around the leagues more than any other in the region in recent seasons, this time to a division where the 8th, 9th, 11th and 12th placed teams from the previous season were all removed and replaced by a few Champions and a few Cup Winners and Finalists to produce a beast of a Level 6, certainly far stronger than the Level 6 the 2 clubs contested last season. As ever with this buggers muddle of a league reorg, 24 teams come down from the 12 Level 6 leagues to be replaced by the 18 Level 7 Champions and the 6 best record 2nd placed teams, thereby immediately forcing regional disparities. Also, the 6 Level 5 leagues will see 2 teams from each relegated to Level 6, again with regional disparities. So, with Cobham (likely) and Cornish down to Level 7, the whole balance of Reg 2 South East will move east, because Horsham, London Scottish, Teddington, Petersfield and Old Tiffinians being likely joined by Dartfordians, all have a claim to join Regional 2 South East. With the 2 sides down from Reg 1 South East both heading for Reg 2 Anglia, an imbalance of tumultuous proportions will see another wholesale rejig of Level 6 for next season. Straightforward it certainly isn’t and the idiots who voted for this reorg should hang their heads in shame because no club can plan with this kind of uncertainty season on season to say nothing of the poor administrators whose task it is to sort it all out, as your correspondent has repeatedly pointed out since the reorg was first mooted - it is doing nothing to reverse adult male playing numbers declining and should be ditched at the first opportunity. Cornish at least can rest assured they are heading to Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex where old friends and new await!