Cornish Rally but Can't Reel in Becks!

London Cornish slipped to a narrow defeat at the hands of Beckenham on Saturday and will rue a period either side of half time when they conceded a penalty try, a charge down try and lost 2 players to the bin at the same time. On the plus side a series of new players showed up well and the exiles have carried their ability to win multiple bonus points from last season into this.
On a balmy afternoon the Balmoral Avenue HQ of the hosts was in decent fettle with a healthy attendance bolstered by a ladies match, which took place prior. Cornish began playing from left to right as you looked out from the clubhouse and an early indication of what we are likely to see plenty of this season saw the visitors concede a penalty for a high tackle, though the kick flew wide. On 10 minutes and after dominating territory, the home side sent their left wing over for an unconverted try but the exiles levelled this up with their first attack when Oscar Cruz broke through near a ruck and offloaded to George Bromage to skip past the last defender and score wide left, this try also not improved. 8 minutes later and Beckenham regained the lead when they broke from a maul close in to score half way to the posts, this one converted. Straight from the kick off Cornish replied again, Ciaran Johnson sending Mike Edworthy blind and him linking with Bromage who again beat the last man to score, Fin Robjohn adding a fine conversion. On 28 minutes the visitors took the lead for the first time with a try that had the travelling support in raptures, Cruz again involved and linking with Rory Ling and Ed Fink before the ball was worked wide left to Kieran Rodda. He arrowed outside his man and looped an inside pass to the supporting Fin Tweedie, who twisted out of a tackle and over for the try, Robjohns conversion attempt slamming an upright but falling on the wrong side, though his side now lead 17-12. On 31 minutes the exiles lost a man to the bin for a high tackle. Within 60 seconds they were reduced to 13 when a maul was held up over the line only for the referee to deem it deliberately collapsed, awarding a penalty try. Cornish somehow saw out the remaining minutes of the half without conceding further, the half-time score 19-17 to the Kent side.
An early change saw Jimmy New given a break for Anthony Graham to come on at half time and a scrappy period of play following, notable only for Cornish to see their numbers back up to 15. Beckenham have clearly recruited well and their former Westcombe Park charges now combined to send their dangerous right wing over for a converted try on 47 minutes with a suspiciously forward looking pass. One criticism you could level at the exiles throughout the match was the number of times the ball was lost forward in contact, both up and on the floor, this hindering progress on multiple occasions. On 54 minutes the visitors fell further behind when a kick was charged down just outside their 22 and a home lock saw it bounce up perfectly into his hands to gallop clear and score by the posts, the lead suddenly out to a seemingly unassailable 33-17. Cornish continued to ring the changes, Johnston replaced by George Jackson and New back on for Ling up top. In recent seasons, the exiles have never been more dangerous than when well behind and once again here they rallied to the cause. Skipper Alex Davey was the architect, twice producing great carries to force the home d to retreat, and then a wide pass from Edworthy sending Tweedie away (pictured) to draw the last man and spin the ball to Reuben Salisbury in front of the clubhouse to cross the whitewash and round closer to the posts for Robjohn to add the extras, Fink given a break to give Will Drake a well deserved 1s debut. With 15 minutes left the Kent side landed a penalty to make the score 36-24 but missed a long range attempt to add to their score on 71 minutes. A minute later Edworthy produced a prodigious howitzer of a kick to land a 50/22 after Cruz had snaffled a Bs line out, which precipitated a furious Cornish assault on the home line, the referee generously not carding a Bs forward for killing the ball 5 out. With 5 to go it was Cruz who came off for Fink to return and his side finally had reward for their endeavours when Edworthy dummied his was through a gap and sashayed over under the posts, Robjohn reducing the arrears to 5, an audible tension now apparent in the home support. However, try as they might in the closing minutes the exiles could not fashion another chance of note and two exhausted sides were probably delighted to greet the final whistle in the heat.
Beckenham are clearly keen to ensure that they do not repeat the last ditch attempt to stay up of last season and have recruited well across the park. They are great hosts and a decent bunch off the pitch too and this match was played out in great spirit – we wish them well and look forward to hosting them at the seasons end.
Cornish begin life in Regional 2 South-East much as they did in Regional 2 Thames last season, with a narrow defeat in a high scoring match away from home. It is a measure of how early the season started that only 6 of the 18 players who played in the last league game last season played the opening one this, and there will be a few more iterations in the coming weeks as lads return or head off to the RWC. Congrats to the debutants on the day, Will Drake, Ciaran Johnston, Fin Tweedie and Reuben Salisbury all of whom can be pleased with their days work.