Cornish Gel Quickly to Down KCS!

The new look London Cornish provided ample evidence that they are fast learners, when they beat newly promoted local rivals KCS Old Boys in Motspur Park on Saturday in London 1 South. The exiles were comfortable winners, never behind from the moment they took a 3rd minute lead, and winning by 5 tries to 2 on a very warm, dry afternoon.
Both sides had been well beaten on the opening day, so would have had extra incentive to bounce back, but the exiles have a decent recent record against their near neighbours, and had been very competitive in that opening fixture, only giving best late on. Only 2 changes were made to that starting line up, Will Carew-Gibbs in at hooker and Dan Phoenix in at 12. On the bench, lock James La Broy was available again, and Colum Jordan was selected for his debut.
Cornish opened playing towards the football pitches, and the hosts barely touched the ball before they were pinged for not rolling away inside the 22 on 3 minutes, Phoenix landing his first kick of the day from point blank. With their first real possession of the match on 6 minutes, the KCS 10 kicked the ball dead from just inside his own half. At the scrum, Cornish launched Jamie Owen on a driving run down the left flank, the hosts pinged again and Phoenix sending them 5 metres from their own line. Jake Slade hit his man and as the exiles rolled the maul, they opened up the blind side where Freddie Cruz hit Phoenix to dummy his way over for a try he was not able to improve. KCS were frustrated to be held up in the tackle on their next foray into visiting territory on 10 minutes, and when they found their way back into the game 8 minutes later, it was completely against the run of play, the home 7 reading an exiles backs move perfectly to pick off the intercept and dash away at the angle for a try wide right, well converted by his fly half. During the chase Cornish lock Kyle Coulter pulled a hamstring and was replaced by La Broy at this point. Continuing to dominate territory and possession, and exerting huge pressure on the home pack in the tight, Cornish went close on 23 minutes, Carew-Gibbs through a gap on half-way before offloading to Carne who lost the ball in the act of scoring under pressure from a fine covering tackle. 5 minutes later, and a pivotal moment in the match saw La Broy and Sam Matanle combine to take the exiles to the foot of the posts, where the home hooker killed the ball, him binned for his indiscretion. Cornish elected to scrum, and with another advantage Cameron Crozier drove over under the posts for a try converted by Phoenix, the exiles now 15-7 ahead. This passage of play saw Mark Osei-Tutu tweak a knee, Dave Theobald on in the front row and Carew-Gibbs set free in the back row, Slade moving to hooker. We believe the home no 8 was also binned at this point, but KCS may need to confirm this?! Either way, what followed was a sudden increase in tempo by the visitors, forwards and backs combining in a fine passage of play to send Player of the Year Matt Hakes away, and when he offloaded Phoenix was on hand to scoop up the pass and crash over in the left hand corner, before sending a fine touchline conversion between the uprights. Carew-Gibbs claimed the restart, evading tackles before Carne set Funston away, him through a gap in front of the clubhouse and chipping ahead, KCS kicking the ball dead to concede the scrum V. This time Cornish locked tight and simply drove their hosts back over their line for Crozier (now at 8) to claim the bonus point try, Phoenix again converting to make the score at the break 29-7 to the exiles.
Cornish took the precaution of resting Matt Hakes at the break, him having a tight hamstring, Jordan on at 9, Cruz switching to full back and Ejo Erhirhie onto the wing. Early KCS pressure bore fruit when they won a penalty and kicked it to the right hand corner. They set the maul, but this exiles pack is so adept at defending these, and they were aghast to find Pete Calvert work his way up the middle and simply wrench the ball away from the ball carrier, Cruz launching the clearing kick. With La Broy a menace on their lineouts, KCS were twice pinged for offences on 47 minutes until another series of carries from the visiting forwards and backs caught the visitors offside in midfield, Phoenix landing the first points of the half with the kick to take his side into the 30s. With possession evening out, twice KCS knocked on in midfield under pressure from Phoenix and Funston, some of the hits a step up on the previous week. On 55 minutes, KCS worked their way into the exiles 22, but Matanle pinched the ball on the floor, but rather than set the clearance, he countered. Linking with Cruz down the left wing, Carne was twice involved, Jordan then sending the ball to Owen before an inside pass sent Funston away (pictured on his way to the line) for a lightening counter attacking score, Phoenix again adding the extras. Just after the hour mark, it was Carew-Gibbs pilfering the ball, him showing a great turn of foot to hare down the right flank before linking with Owen. As the ball was recycled, KCS were again pinged for offside and Phoenix completed a fine day with the boot to take his side out to a 42-7 lead. With both sets of players tiring, the game opened up, though KCS continued to make unforced errors, kicking a penalty dead when well placed on 67 minutes. Another Carew-Gibbs break on 70 opened up the home d, but when the final pass flew forwards the opportunity went begging. A minute later, and KCS finally gained reward for their efforts, them breaking through between 2 forwards and executing a 2 on 1 despite a despairing cover tackle, the conversion good. The hosts sniffed a bonus point if they could land 2 more scores, but their final effort foundered when one of their forwards ran into the back of his team mate in the shadow of the Cornish posts. The last action of the match saw Cornish pinch a home lineout and attack from deep, Funston angling through a gap and sending an inside ball to Owen who was downed in the act of flicking the last pass, the ball knocked on right by the try line under the uprights. There was little time left for either side to respond after this, the final whistle sounding with play in midfield.
When Cornish were promoted into this division, it took them some time to adjust to how you need to cope with the constant injury count that follows, and KCS are enduring a similar spell. They have a ton of talent at their disposal, and it will surely not take too long for them to find their feet - in a 26 game season, they have plenty of time to recover.
Cornish move on, having weathered a match in which they had to use all 3 of their replacements by the break. The stronger squad depth that has been built in the close season will be more evident as the season wears on, but this has been an encouraging start.