LONDON 3 SOUTH-WEST
08/09/07
TOTTONIANS v LONDON CORNISH

Tottonians 15 - London Cornish 17

London Cornish demonstrated the requisite amount of 'dog' to deservedly claim the scalp of pre season promotion hopefuls Tottonians in a thrilling encounter at Water Lane on the opening day of the London 3 South-West season. To put this result into context, the home side had only lost once at home in the division last season and were the highest placed side not to get promotion. The win was achieved by two goals and a penalty to a goal, a try and a penalty in a match few would argue against the visitors deserving to edge, and this on the exiles debut at the highest level at which they have played in their history.

Cornish returned to the Totts ground 8 months after narrowly succumbing in a Cup match, and it is worth noting that only 7 of the squad playing that day were involved on this one. League debuts were handed to open side Rod Petre, blind side Mike Allewell, fly half John Barker and centre Tim Mucken, while the Captains armband was handed to lock Jay Stirrett in the continued absence of the injured Tom Thirlwall. A warm, sunny day greeted the visitors and on inspection the pitch was in immaculate condition. A decent sized crowd had gathered in the heat, which considering the plethora of competing RWC matches during the afternoon was some sacrifice! It did not take long for the home side to hit their straps, Cornish giving up a kickable penalty within minutes of the start despite repeated warnings about the accuracy of the Totts kickers boot. From this point on for the next 30 minutes Cornish utterly dominated proceedings, producing a hitherto unseen level of rugby, with only the Totts ability to pinch key lineout ball keeping Cornish at bay. With Barker launching huge rangefinders deep into enemy territory and mixing his game up well, Totts were kept guessing and this, allied with excellent work by the tight 5, gave the exiles the platform they needed. On 17 minutes, after a series of battering drives following a superb break by no 8 Saunders, scrum half Rich Gregory burrowed his way over from close in halfway in to the posts at the Water Lane end. Dan Pollard struck the conversion between the uprights and the visitors had the lead. On 22 minutes another series of battering drives broke the Totts rearguard on the blind side, Saunders able to stroll over unopposed 10 feet in from touch. Pollard drove a difficult conversion between the sticks for a 14-3 lead. With Andy Renner, Will Carew-Gibbs and Ben Shribman causing considerable problems for their opposite numbers, two strikes were taken against the head and only a superb cover tackle on wing James Strover prevented another score as Cornish sort to kill the game off. However, just on the half hour the tide of the game changed and back came Totts. Now they won a series of penalties inside Cornish territory. Their kicker pulled one across the face of the posts, before on 32 minutes a Cornish forward was binned for allegedly killing the ball, though your correspondent was behind the posts and it was actually a case of mistaken identity (right team, wrong man!). The defensive wall held firm until the 38th minute when the numbers finally ran out and the Totts fly half dummied his way over to score near the posts. With seconds left in the half, Cornish won a penalty just inside the Totts half. After assessing the wind, the distance and his stars, Pollard decided to give it a go. To immense cheers from the Cornish support he landed the monster penalty to give Cornish a 17-10 lead at the break.

Both sides were aware that the game was still in the balance and the visitors started the second period still down a man. They weathered the early storm to bring the man back on and then won a penalty out to the right. The penalty attempt slid wide of the posts and Totts were reprieved. Continually using their 12 to try and bash up the centre channels, Totts found Josh Bartley-Smith and Mucken in uncompromising form, backed by superb defensive work from the backrow of Petre, Allewell and Saunders who covered every blade of grass in searing heat. Gradually, Cornish were forced to defend deeper and deeper but try as they might, the Hants side could not break through and were frequently turned over. When they did go wide they were hit by the extremely physical exiles wingers Jim Strover and James Broad. With Stirrett and Rob Aird beginning to nail lineout ball, Cornish were able to keep Totts at arms length, though clearing kicks were not as accurate as in the first period. Stirrett succumbed to a shoulder injury on the hour, Club Captain James Turnbull stepping into the front row and Shribman easing back into lock. With 15 left on the clock, Cornish freshened up their defence replacing Broad and Allewell with Mike Harvey and debutant Pete Drewett. On 67 minutes, and following a barnstorming run from Carew-Gibbs, Cornish won another penalty in a similar position to the one won earlier in the half. Again the kick slid agonisingly wide of the posts and Totts were still in the game. Whenever Totts found their way into Cornish territory they were met with fierce resistance and two superb cover tackles by Strover and Petre downed runners when a score seemed certain. With the clock running down the frustration began to force handling errors from the home team, but they were buoyed by the referee announcing an astonishing 9 minutes of injury time. Battering away at the Cornish line, Totts were repeatedly driven back in the mauls. Finally, with 5 minutes of injury time lapsed, Totts twisted over half way into the posts and crossed the whitewash. Their kicker, who had earlier received treatment for a knock following a crunching Strover tackle, drove his conversion attempt wide of the posts to audible groans from the home support. The final action of the match was a microcosm of its whole - Totts attacking, being brought to ground and turned over, the ball kicked laterally to touch to scenes of jubilation from every Cornishman present. The fact that some Totts players were still lying on the pitch 15 minutes after the end of the match showed just how much energy they had expended and just how disappointed they were, but in truth there were not many in the bar from either side who would argue that the better side hadn't won on the day.

If this match is a portent of things to come in London 3 South-West this season, supporters of all the sides are in for a treat. Evenly refereed between two physical sides who went toe to toe for the full 80 (89!!) minutes in a game that could have gone either way, no player from either side shirked a challenge. Tottonians continue to be the standard bearers for the division and few would bet against them bouncing back from this defeat soon. Cornish have learnt many lessons from the game and have plenty to work on before their next match. Delighted to be here and delighted to be 'on the board' after one match, Cornish look forward to the challenges ahead!

LCRFC – Dan Pollard, James Broad (Mike Harvey), Tim Muckenschnabl, Josh Bartley-Smith, James Strover, John Barker, Rich Gregory, Jonty Saunders, Rod Petre, Mike Allewell (Pete Drewett), Jay Stirret (Capt.)(James Turnbull), Rob Aird, Ben Shribman, Will Carew-Gibbs, Andy Renner.


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