1st XV
Matches
Sat 17 Dec 2022  ·  Regional 2 Thames
Cobham
32
28
London Cornish RFC
1st XV
Tries: E McCord, G Bromage, M Hakes, A WheelerConversions: F RobjohnPenalties: F Robjohn (2)
Cornish So Close as Cob Edge Thriller!

Cornish So Close as Cob Edge Thriller!

Dickon Moon20 Dec 2022 - 00:21
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https://www.londoncornishrfc.c

Exiles land 2 more bonus points but no return to winning ways quite yet!

If the manufacturers of synthetic surfaces required a decent advertisement for their product, this Regional 2 Thames match between bang in form Cobham and their visitors London Cornish provided the perfect example with a humdinger of a match to warm the many hardy spectators who had braved the conditions to witness one of a only a very few matches played in the region on the day. The home side carried the day by 4 points to extend their winning run to 7, but they were made to fight to the bitter end to land the spoils as the exiles produced yet another barnstorming finish to provide more evidence of steady improvement since last season.
Cornish have had to contend with no end of injuries and illness sweeping through the squad recently with an outbreak of Covid claiming more of the squad in the run up to the game. It was also just as well the exiles brought a stand by player too as one of their number had not received any of the comms re his selection and did not make the match. However, the coaching team felt that if the squad selected could win enough ball, they had the weaponry out wide to hurt any side at this level, however in form they were.
Playing away from the clubhouse in the opening half, the home side had understandable dominance in the tight early on, and it did not take long for that dominance to be rewarded with a converted try after their 8 crossed to the right of the posts. On 12 minutes this lead was doubled when a miss tackle in midfield saw one of the home backs scamper over under the posts for another converted try. This cost Cornish their stand in lock Adam Wheeler with hyperextension to his arm, Francis Birch on in his place. On 20 minutes the visitors lost another man to injury as Kyle Hughes won a penalty on the floor to stem a Cobham attack but took a knock to the head in the process. Joel Williams on in his stead. 14-0 down with both forward replacements used away from home against the leagues form side and fielding a now well underpowered pack with the festive break beckoning would have been the recipe for many to down tools but not this Cornish side. They found a foothold in the match on the back of the first of many outstanding breaks by outside centre Robbie Mackay, him scything through from inside his own half to take play in the Cob 22, where quickly recycled ball saw Ed McCord spin out of a tackle and drive over for an unconverted try. The respite had allowed Wheeler to strap up his injured arm, him bravely returning to the action in place of Williams. The home side extended their lead with a penalty on 33 minutes but Cornish landed one of their own via the boot of Fin Robjohn after George Bromage served notice of his intention to extend his scoring sequence with another side stepping run on 35 minutes. In the closing minutes of the half Mike Edworthy kicked a penalty to 10 out down the right flank, and when Tony Pellows arrow was caught by Tom Carr the exiles launched a steamrolling maul only to break off from the back too early and knock on with the line at their mercy, the whistle at the break seeing Cobham 17-8 ahead.
Cornish began the 2nd half well with another Mackay burst giving them great field position, however they knocked on twice when well placed, the second time after a great Robjohn box kick saw Birch win a penalty on the floor. On 48 minutes the visitors lost a man to the bin for a high tackle and with the extra man Cobham made their pressure count a mere 2 minutes later, sending a wing over wide right for a well converted try. Mackay and Bromage combined to take play into the home 22 5 minutes later and a high tackle inside the 22 saw Robjohn reduce the arrears by 3 to 24-11, Tom Dyer on at full back to replace debutant Jamie Wallace-Woodroffe who had produced a composed performance. Now Cornish were winning their fair share of set piece ball and when they sniped blind on 58 minutes it was Cob who lost a man to the bin for a deliberate knock on. Sensing their moment, the visitors countered at pace 62, Mackay and Hakes taking play deep into the Cob half before spinning the ball to Bromage to step off both feet and score in his 5th consecutive league match, Robjohn adding the extras, the gap down to one score at 24-18. They nearly paid for a loss of concentration at a ruck a few minutes later when a fly hack was walloped dead by a retreating exile and when Cob won a penalty at the scrum V, they elected to land the 3 to take the lead out to 2 scores again, around 10 left on the match. However, a vocal crowd was sensing the momentum shift and the exiles no 8 Mark Osei-Tutu and inside centre Pete Brogden were having an increasing impact with their barrelling runs. On 73 Cornish went blind from half-way, Osei-Tutu breaking away down the left hand side before drawing the last man and sending Hakes in for an unconverted try, a palpable sense of foreboding growing amongst the home faithful. Now it was the turn of props Joe Lynch and Dave Theobald to make the carries, Cob pinged at a ruck and again at the lineout 5 out from their own try line. Cornish set the maul and Carr again claimed Pellow’s arrow, this time Wheeler the man on hand to reach out and plant the ball over the line to give his side the lead for the first time in the match and land the try bonus point, just 3 minutes of injury time remaining when the conversion attempt flew wide, the effort of scoring ending Wheeler’s involvement as he over extended his already hyper extended arm, Williams back on in his place. With their unbeaten run now on the line, Cobham had to respond and Cornish couldn’t transgress. Losing the restart and conceding a penalty, they lost territorial advantage and were gradually forced to defend deeper and deeper until the home side sent their left wing in at the corner flag despite a fine covering Bromage tackle, the referee on the spot (as he was all game) to award the try, this not converted and no time left for Cornish to mount another last ditch counter.
There are very strong relationships between these two clubs with many current and former players knowing each other well and, with Chobham also in attendance for the earlier club match, there were also a number of former Cob players from their title winning sides of a decade or so ago (Chob are now coached by a series of ex Cob players). Stories of yore carried on well into the evening following another great feed (you never fail to get well fed at Cobham) and we drank them out of real ale too! Hopefully, we will be back in oppo again next season and if the matches are anything like this one, the neutral should pop the dates in the diary when the new fixtures are released! For now, tired bodies on both sides will enjoy the break before the action resumes on Jan 7th!

Match details

Match date

Sat 17 Dec 2022

Kickoff

14:30

Competition

Regional 2 Thames

League position

3
Cobham
7
London Cornish
Team overview
Further reading

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