Havant Have The Answers as Cornish Learn on the Fly!

London Cornish may well have been attempting the impossible in launching 9 debutants at pre season promotion tip Havant at the REMPF in London 1 South on Saturday, and no-one will be hiding behind the fact that a 6 try to 2 home defeat is a big one. However, there were plenty of positives for the exiles to take from the game as the squad undergoes a top to toe reconstruction. There are more arrivals to follow in the next few months, so developing cohesive structures in defence and attack will, by necessity, take place partly on the fly as once a week training dictates.
The visitors brought a tremendous amount of expectant and good humoured travelling support with them, and had clearly recruited a few more of the successful Hampshire Bill Beaumont Cup county squad to supplement those already in their number, and for a team who had only lost 2 matches since the turn of the year they are well set for a strong season.
Cornish began playing away from the clubhouse end in dry, blustery conditions, but it was the visitors who started the better, landing a penalty on 3 minutes. When the visitors attempted to run from deep 5 minutes later, Mark O’Leary, who enjoyed a fine game, won a penalty for holding on the floor, but the kick from distance flew wide. On 15 minutes, and somewhat against the run of play, Cornish took the lead when O’Leary snaffled an overthrown Hav lineout inside their 22, and when the ball was recycled blind by scrum half Freddie Cruz, former Glasgow Hawk Cameron Crozier was on hand to drive over wide left, Tom Whelan producing a howitzer kick to make it a max. Hav reduced the arrears to 7-6 with a penalty on 21 minutes, and took the lead back on 24 when one of their locks twisted his way over by the posts to make the score 7-13. With waves of attacks raining down on them, Cornish were having to work hard to stay in the game, and Whelan reduced the arrears again on 28 minutes with another long range penalty. When Hav kicked a penalty to 5 out down the right hand side, they launched a prop at the line but O’Leary ripped the ball from him for Matt Hakes to clear. Those watching sensed that the longer the exiles could stay in the game, the more frustrated their visitors would become, and just when it looked as though they would be in touch at the break, disaster struck! Hav sent one of their props through a gap just outside the exiles half, and as the 2 covering exiles came across to tackle him, they clattered into one another to hit the turf and shepherd the lad across the line untouched. The conversion was missed, but the visitors turned round 18-10 to the good.
Cornish began the 2nd period well, former Bridgend lock Kyle Coulter claiming the restart and precipitating a great passage of play with forwards and backs combining before Hav were caught offside just inside their own 10 metre line, Whelan bringing the deficit back inside 1 score. Moving up a gear, the exiles won another penalty 2 minutes later following a Jamie Owen dash, this also converted and the visitors losing a prop to an injury. The battle up front was well joined throughout, with neither side having the edge, O’Leary, Jake Slade and former Penryn front row Tony Pellow proving solid ball. Pete Calvert and Slade produced another home attack, only halted by a high tackle on the latter, but the subsequent line out was lost and the danger cleared on 47, the momentum still with the exiles. Cornish replaced full back Eji Erhirhie with Julian Osborne at this point, but he could only watch as the visitors extended their lead to 21-16 with a penalty. Another replacement saw Matt Chambers on for Coulter, who had enjoyed a decent game. On 57 minutes, an innocuous looking chip over the top by the Hampshire side bounced the way only a rugby ball can, obliquely into the arms of an onrushing Hav back to power through and away for a converted score. This action saw Dave Theobald replace the excellent O’Leary, and when Ed Carne combined to send Dave Funston through a gap down the left flank on the hour mark, another opening had appeared. However, Cornish were guilty throughout the match of trying a few too many offloads, and when the ball was spilt forwards the chance was gone. Hav missed a kickable penalty on 66 minutes, but made amends a few minutes later when they broke off a maul to crash across the line for their bonus point try and the surely the match, at 35-16 with 10 minutes left. Two more converted tries followed as Cornish forced the game in the next 5 minutes, but in the final minutes of the match the exiles served notice that they are learning. Time and again they launched runs into the visitors 22, and first one Hav player, then another was consigned to the bin for a string of red zone offences, the last of which forced uncontested scrums. Finally, some 6 minutes into injury time, Cruz, Whelan and Carne combined to send a long cut out pass to the waiting Mark Osei-Tutu to register his first ever try at this level, sauntering over wide right for an unconverted try (pictured), the unsuccessful kick the last action of the match.
Havant will certainly expect a stronger showing in the league than last season and, having been title contenders 2 seasons back, on this showing they may well be up there again. They are a strong all round side, seem well equipped for most weather conditions, and can count on a formidable home record to boot.
9 lads made their debuts for the exiles on this day, and in the case of scrum half Freddie Cruz, he was thrust into the limelight at incredibly short notice after the exiles named 9 and his replacement were both injured in a full contact training session on the Wednesday, and the other 2 9s in the squad were both unavailable – you would never have known that Cruz only joined the club on the Wednesday and had had no pre season action! This was the first of an 8 game straight league blast on consecutive Saturdays for London 1 South, so Cornish will need to find that cohesion fast as they evolve. A fascinating season awaits!