Thriller Under the Lights Sees Park Take all 5!

In filthy conditions at the well appointed Imber Court facility in East Molesey, London Cornish slipped to a narrow defeat to Belsize Park in Regional 2 Thames on Friday night. The exiles will again rue not taking chances when they had them, and also the damage caused by only having 1 available natural lock who was then injured and came off at the break, a pivotal moment in the match as it turned out. In a league where the majority of the teams are evenly matched, this was always going to be a tight, low scoring game with driving rain making it a miserable evening even for those few hardy spectators huddled towards the back of the large stand.
Cornish opened playing away from the river with the wind across and behind them. Early BP pressure was relieved when Dave Chalkley cleanly won a visiting lineout for the danger to be cleared. On 5 minutes the home side drove BP clean off their own ball at a scrum and won a penalty. Kicking to 10 out down the left flank, Tony Pellow hit fellow Cornishman Alex Davey and the maul was set, Pellow on hand to reclaim the ball and dive across the line for the early try, Mile Edworthy adding an excellent conversion across the swirling wind. It was clear from the outset that BP planned on using their rangy 10/12 combination to try and batter holes in the home d, and on 10 minutes this tactic worked when an ‘after you sir’ attempt at a tackle saw their 12 saunter thru the attempt, draw the last man and send his 9 away for a try by the posts. On a very poor night for the visiting kicker, he managed to push the conversion attempt wide to leave his side 2 points down. 4 minutes later Cornish extended their lead when George Jackson took a quick tap at a penalty and caught the retreating BP d not back 10, bringing the kick into range for Edworthy who made no mistake to take the score out to 10-5. Perhaps guilty of not using the conditions to their advantage by angling kicks in behind, Cornish played a little too much rugby in midfield. This gifted the streetwise visiting side the opportunity to force knock ons and spoil play, which frustrated the exiles who conceded a few penalties. Eschewing kickable penalties, the visitors dominated possession and territory for a period before Will Carew-Gibbs won a penalty on the floor for lines to be cleared. For the last 5 minutes of the half Cornish battered away close to the Belsize Park line but with little direction, neither able to re-enact their successful maul nor sending the ball wide to give the backs a chance to have a dart. In the event the half ended when the ball was knocked on, the visitors probably the happier to turn round only 5 points down.
The exiles made 2 changes within a minute of the restart, Chalkey unable to carry on having suffered a knock just before the break and Dave Theobald withdrawn for Anthony Graham to get a run. This dual change meant the exiles were forced to field a far shorter, lighter second row than their visitors and this was to play a key part in the outcome of the match. On 46 minutes, BP rolled a maul to the exiles 22, then sent the ball across the line to squeeze their right wing over at the flag to level the scores, the conversion attempt scuttling across the ground. 5 minutes later and the exiles should have reclaimed the lead. Pete Brogen flighted an angled chip in behind and when the BP cover spilt the ball, Robbie Mackay was onto it, twice fly hacking it until it spun across the face of the posts before Terry Gillam pounced on it only to see the ball spit up at him in the act of scoring, the ball lost forward and the chance lost. This was Brogdens last act as he was given a break for George Kimmins to replace him. On 55 and 58 minutes both sides lost a man to the bin for high tackles, but the exiles man was their last remaining lineout jumper a fact not lost on the visitors who won a penalty, kicked to 5 out, then rolled a maul over to take the lead for the first time, this try also not improved. Cornish needed to respond and on 66 minutes they did just that. Great hands across the backline saw Dan Phoenix send Mackay twisting his way through a tackle to be brought down 10 out down the right wing, where BP were pinged for hands in. Jackson took a quick tap and fed the ever hungry Mark Osei-Tutu, whose powerful runs from the base of scrums had been a major feature in any ground the exiles made on the evening. Osei-Tutu simply mulched his way through the defence to plant the ball over the line, though the conversion attempt from wide out flew narrowly wide, game on at 15-15. Your correspondent now spent time over the back of the conifers on the far side from the stand trying to locate 2 match balls that had been kicked over the top, so missed some of the action. During this hiatus, Cornish reversed their earlier front row replacement during this time to shore up the action in the tight. On 75 minutes BP broke to 10 out from the exiles line and one of their front row spotted no one home through the middle of a ruck, slipping through before shipping the ball to a waiting back, who managed to squirm the ball onto the line despite a fantastic attempt to stop him by Kieran Rodda, this try also not improved but the visitors back out to a 5 point lead. In a frantic last 5 minutes, both sides lost the ball on the floor before Cornish had one last dart to build phases from deep. Though they gradually made their way into the BP half, staunch d kept them at bay and eventually the visitors carted an exiles back into touch for the final whistle to sound.
This was a great match for the neutral to watch given the conditions and credit for that must go as much to the referee as to the 2 teams, both coaching teams opining that the ref had a belter. Belsize Park are another side who will win their fair share of matches in the league and, like Cornish, probably feel that they are at the right level. We appreciated the effort they made in switching the fixture to accommodate our 60th celebrations on the Saturday and look forward to the return match in the New Year.
Cornish have a few solvable challenges at present but, unlike last season, continue to pick up points. A well earned week off now ahead of the next tranche of matches, which will see the return of both last years Player of the Season and runner up return to action for the first time this season!