LONDON 3 SOUTH-WEST
24/01/09
LONDON CORNISH v WINCHESTER

London Cornish 11 - Winchester 14

How do you fathom a side like London Cornish? Unbeaten by any of the top 7 sides in London 3 South-West, for the second time this season Cornish were beaten by the bottom side in the division on the day. The defeat, by a try, a drop goal and a penalty to two goals, ended the exiles unbeaten home record and saw them slip to 4th in a division where no side has yet taken control of the league. None of this should detract from a gritty, determined performance by the visitors Winchester, who had taken encouragement from their narrow defeat here in the Cup shortly before Christmas, and who certainly deserved their victory on this day.

A sparse crowd had gathered to watch the match, played on a remarkably firm surface considering the persistent heavy rain that had fallen in the 3 days previous to this encounter. Cornish had made 6 changes to the squad beaten in the Vase the previous week; back came Dave Theobald at tight head, Skipper Rob Aird at no 8, scrum half Mike Dardis and inside centre Tom Fegen. The bench saw recalls for club stalwarts James Turnbull and Adam McVicar. A dry, bright day greeted the sides, the exiles playing in their change strip of gold shirts with narrow black hoops. Cornish made all the early running in the game, Fegen in particular causing no end of problems as he constantly crossed the gainline. Too frequently his bursts were not supported and any danger was snuffed out before it could result in points. On 8 minutes however, Theobald drove down the middle and quick ball was recycled via Dardis and fly half Dan Pollard to Fegen, whose snap drop-goal attempt sneaked over the bar to give his side the lead. This was a small but significant moment in recent LCRFC history - the points were Fegens first for the 1s since February 17th 2007, the two time top points scorer having missed so much rugby in the intervening period with injury, and this being only his second start since that time. Though the exiles continued to win the territorial battle, an increasing fractious game was being punctuated by a referee who seemed intent on breaking up the fluidity of the game. Winchester scrambled, harried and hassled the exiles every move, managing to stay on the right side of the referee and employing a thoroughly destructive brand of rugby. They gained in confidence as their hosts failed to master the referee's interpretation of the breakdown, and on 27 minutes gained their reward. From attacking deep inside the Winchester 22, 6 consecutive penalties for a variety of offences saw Cornish walked back to the brink of their tryline. Seemingly frozen from competing at the breakdown it was no surprise to see a visiting forward able to plunge onto the line and plant the ball down for the score. A decent kick extended the lead to 4 points at 3-7. Within minutes Cornish had an opportunity to respond, but for the second week running the kicking boots of Dan Pollard, so often the scourge of sides in the division this season, went missing. Two penalties were missed in a 5 minute spell, locks Pete Calvert and James Brennan having combined to force the first, and Dardis catching a back offside for the second. As the half wore on, so the game slowed down even more, the visitors spending time tying boot laces, getting treatment for a variety of injuries and then the ref himself finding himself on the floor and requiring treatment. Small wonder that what few spectators remained drifted off to watch the 3rd XV game! Unable to piece together phases of play, the game developed a pattern of Cornish attacking, offending, retreating, winning the Winchester lineout and then repeating. With little continuous rugby, the exiles back row of Aird, Mike Allewell and Will Ho were simply unable to exert any influence on the game, their visitors seemingly adept at preventing good quality ball from reaching the home backs, and Fegen increasingly becoming a bystander. Though wing Rich Hart managed a couple of darts towards the break, it was a dispirited exiles side that greeted the whistle at the break, 4 points down.

Now attacking the clubhouse end, Cornish remained confident that they could turn the game around. They reckoned without an increasingly confident Winchester side, whose Skipper was at the heart of much of their best work. They carried well into the exiles midfield and found an ally in a referee who administered the rules in a way that clearly suited their game. Cornish would rue their inability to comprehend his reading of the game. 8 minutes into the second period, Turnbull replaced fellow Cornishman Ben Wheeler at loose head. Within minutes he had forced his opposite number into an indiscretion, Pollard stepping up and reducing the arrears to 1 point. Most watching expected the exiles to take control from this point but it didnt happen. Forcing the game now, only hooker Will Carew-Gibbs and Brennan seemed able to provide go forward ball, and too often poor ball was shipped to the backs, where Keith Thompson, full back Conor O'Daly and Hart barely saw ball in open play all half. The exiles appeared ponderous and indecisive at times, and Winchester siezed on this factor to push their hosts deeper and deeper into their own territory. Finally, on 64 minutes a Winchester forward simply waltzed through a non existent defence to score to the right of the posts. The visiting kicker struck the conversion sweetly between the uprights and his jubilant side had a 14-6 lead. The exiles quickly made their remaining changes, withdrawing Allewell and wing Mike Harvey and replacing them with Miran Serdarevic and McVicar, Dardis switching to the wing. Though causing real problems on the Winchester put in, Cornish were not as solid as they have been on their own ball, and this meant little quality ball made its way to the backline. With 6 minutes left a scrum deep in the Winchester 22 erupted in a flurry of punches, the referee consigning one of the exiles front row to the bin. Now down to 14 men and behind by 8 points, the Arthur Hunt Cup Winners finally began to play some rugby, a decent run from Dardis linking with Turnbull drove the hosts into Winchester territory. Turning over a scrum inside the visitors 22, Cornish finally drove over near to score near the right flank, Carew-Gibbs the man to cross the whitewash with a mere 4 mintues remaining. Pollard missed the conversion, and the exiles were simply unable to get within range to close the gap any further, Winchester penning them back with well angled kicks. The jubilant visitors were delighted to hear the final whistle, and they deserved their win, it lifting them from bottom position in the league.

Cornish have played Winchester on 3 occasions this season and there has never been more than 3 points between the sides, so perhaps it is not so surprising that they lost this one on a day when their kicker had a rare off day. Winchester will be delighted to break their run of defeats and did well to impose their gameplan on the hosts so successfully. They continue to be a decent bunch off the pitch and we may well see them next season too at this rate! Cornish are neither world beaters nor a poor team, and perhaps we are seeing something of a reckoning at present. The club like nothing more than a challenge and have already set about responding to the first successive defeats they have suffered this season. That response will be watched with interest from top to bottom of this fascinating London 3 South-West division!

LCRFC – Conor O'Daly, Mike Harvey (Adam McVicar), Keith Thompson, Tom Fegen, Rich Hart, Dan Pollard, Mike Dardis, Rob Aird (Capt.), Mike Allewell (Miran Serdarevic), Will Ho, James Brennan, Pete Calvert, Dave Theobald, Will Carew-Gibbs, Ben Wheeler (James Turnbull).


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