LONDON 3 SOUTH-WEST
06/10/07
LONDON IRISH AMATEUR v LONDON CORNISH

London Irish Amateur 27 - London Cornish 20

London Cornish provided ample evidence that they are gradually working their way back to form as they ran unbeaten LIA close in a game in which the visitors were desperately unlucky to lose 3 players with bad injuries before half time, all at a time when they were the dominant force in the match. Irish won the game by 2 goals, 2 tries and a penalty to 1 goal, 2 tries and a penalty at the well appointed Avenue in Sunbury on Saturday. Cornish will hope that the gastric problem that has further whittled down their numbers will at last now subside!

Strengthened by the return of back rows Rob Aird and Neil O'Connor, the latter for his first 1s start since a back injury sidelined him in January 2006, the Cornish pack took the game to their hosts from the off, using a combination of the rolling maul and a powerful scrummaging unit to keep Irish on the back foot. Cornish were also able to call on free scoring full back George Bramble for the first time this season, he having recovered from a knee injury suffered at the end of last season. Irish were panicked in these early exchanges and Cornish went ahead after 7 minutes when hooker Will Carew-Gibbs popped through the middle of a ruck to score to the far right of the posts, the conversion attempt fading into the stiffening breeze. On a fine surface in front of a sparse crowd, the visitors lost O'Connor with a torn hamstring on 10 minutes, prop Ben Wheeler moving to blind side and Andy Renner coming on in the front row. Still Cornish dominated with scrum half Rich Gregory finding plenty of room to snipe round the fringes, and on 14 minutes they fashioned an overlap on the left wing only to see the ball spilt with the tryline at their mercy. The referee was playing advantage anyway and fly half John Barker exacted some revenge as he slotted the penalty to give his side an 8-0 lead. With Aird and lock Pete Calvert ruling supreme at lineout time, the Irish forwards simply could not get a foothold in the game to provide ball for the best set of backs Cornish have faced so far this season. When Irish did attack they were turned over as Will Ho, Aird and Wheeler competed well at the break down. Both sides missed difficult penalties during the middle of the half before Irish finally put phases together to work room down the right wing on 24 minutes. A fantastic covering tackle by centre Dave Furze prevented a score but cost him dearly, concussion forcing him from the field to be replaced by Steve Lewis. The home side now attacked through this channel and a missed tackle on 28 minutes saw them squeeze in on the far left flank, the conversion going wide but the deficit now reduced to 3. On 36 minutes and against the run of play, Irish won a penalty which was slotted easily to level the scores, the prodigious howitzer boot of their 10 an emerging feature at this stage of the match. With time running out on a half they had dominated, Cornish suffered their third bad injury when Aird, such a vital figure to the Cornish cause, broke 3 ribs in an incident not seen by anyone, Mike Allewell coming on at open side with Ho switching to 8, the score at the break all square at 8 all. As the whistle went a lone figure dashed out from the bar to scream triumphantly, the silence from everyone else in the bar betraying the fact that England had turned over Australia again in the RWC!

The game was delayed for a period while a stretcher and ambulance were fetched for Aird and on the restart it was the home side who began the better. Though Cornish now had the wind advantage, the changes in the pack affected the lineout and the home side began to snaffle Cornish ball. They also begun to win more ball at the breakdown as the reshuffle meant all of the visiting back row were now in different positions from the start of the match. On 46 minutes Irish took the lead for the first time when they crashed over after good work by their backs, the conversion easing them out to a 15-8 lead. Heads seemed to go down in Cornish ranks and further damage was caused on 56 minutes when their no 8 was able to drive over from close in, the conversion missed on this occasion. Though Barker and Josh Bartley-Smith launched a few bombs deep into Irish territory, Cornish couldn't keep their opponents down there long enough to hurt them and only a fine tackle from Lewis on 62 minutes prevented a further score, he too subsequently suffering concussion in the process. On 64 minutes and with Cornish on the attack just inside the Irish half, the visitors were turned over and quick hands were followed by a chip and chase by an Irish back, a race he won to score and put his side 27-8 up with the conversion made. That score seemed to galvanise the visitors from their slumber again. Now the Cornish backs found their rhythm and timing, and following a good lineout claim by lock Rob Webster on 73 the ball was spun wide for James Broad to crash over and score, despite being tackled hard as he crossed the whitewash. The conversion attempt slid wide but Cornish were now back in the ascendancy. For the first time this season, the front five started keeping the ball alive in the loose, a fine combination between Skipper Ben Shribman, Renner, Carew-Gibbs and Calvert nearly working a score on 78 minutes. Irish killed the ball illegally to stop the score, the miscreant consigned to the bin for the remainder of the match. Cornish kicked to the corner and, though initially repelled, Bartley-Smith sprinted blind to link with his forwards and give Calvert the chance to show huge strength and drive a couple of defenders over with him to claim the score. The touchline conversion was superbly struck by Barker to narrow the gap to just 7 and harsh words were heard behind the Irish posts. With time up Cornish made one last attempt to run the ball from deep but it was knocked on, the whistle signalling the end of a match that had been well contested througout, the referee being able to take credit for a decent days work.

Irish came down from London 2 South last season and have started the season well. They have an excellent backline who will test the best in this league and their superb ground will rival all at this level. Cornish will rue the injuries they suffered in the game but cannot blame them for they had chances to put this game beyond the reach of their opponents. The club is being hugely patient with its ill and injured hoardes, ensuring that nobody is rushed back too early and only then after stringent tests at training. DoR Dickon Moon has also managed to bring in a couple more players whose impact may be felt in the 1s in the coming weeks, but there was enough encouragement in this match for the club to feel optimistic about the near future, the 2s claiming a good win to lift the clubs spirits.

LCRFC – George Bramble, James Broad, Dave Furze (Steve Lewis), Josh Bartley-Smith, Matt Strover, John Barker, Rich Gregory, Rob Aird (Mike Allewell), Will Ho, Neil O'Connor (Andy Renner), Rob Webster, Pete Calvert, Ben Shribman (Capt.), Will Carew-Gibbs, Ben Wheeler.


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