Cobham 29 London Cornish 3     

16th February 2008

IT’S A GAME OF TWO HALVES

With two good away wins under their belt it was welcoming to see Cobham back at Fairmile Lane on a brisk sunny day. Their opponents, London Cornish, have been in fine fettle of late and there was no complacency in the Cobham ranks as they prepared to face the rightly titled ‘most improved team in the league’.

On a good firm pitch both sides seemed intent on playing rugby more akin with the high velde of South Africa. With Cobham showing the mandatory forced changes from the previous week, although with no apparent weakness to the team itself, they tried to play a multi phase game but came unstuck against a resolute Cornish defence and an uncharacteristic ineptitude to hold on to the ball.

Cornish for their part also looked very threatening, especially out wide and Cobham were found scrambling in defence on more than one occasion in particular just before half time when the Cornish wingers made inroads in to the Cobham 22 only just to be denied yards short of the line by last ditch tackles. The first half stats from both sides were inseparable with both sides enjoying a share of possession and territory but both sides being found guilty of ‘white line fever’, that old ailment where players get scared of crossing the try line!

If there was one area where Cobham sneaked it, it was in the lineout where Will Holland had a superb game replacing former skipper Mark Bennett. For Cobham to return 100% of their own line out ball was a rare bonus and they could be accused of squandering some catch and drives close to the Cornish line. However it is testament to the visitors defending that these Cobham attacks were repelled. It was with no great surprise that despite a lot of endeavour from both sides the scores were locked at 3-3 at half time. A penalty from Welsh marksman Tim Green cancelled out by one from Pollard.

Half time came at just the right time for Cobham as it allowed them to regroup and refocus on what they were trying to achieve. It also allowed the opportunity for their tall coach, Billy Davison, to get his point across in his own intimidatory way. This seemed to be the catalyst Cobham needed to spur them on to raising their game and they started the second half with a renewed vigour.

Playing towards the new clubhouse Cobham changed up a gear and began to make inroads behind the Cornish defence. Their re-found ability to retain the ball in contact areas allowed them to exert some concerted pressure on Cornish which eventually resulted in the Cobham scrum half and captain J.P. O’Reilly breaking open and throwing an outrageous dummy which saw him score under the posts.

The conversion was added and from the restart Cobham began to look more like the ambitious side that is challenging for the league title. To hinder their cause Cornish had a player sin binned for a body check which allowed Cobham to kick for the corners and try and utilise their numerical advantage. With van driver Jack Davison and the Cobham half backs calling the shots the team had found another gear and everyone seemed ebullient to get their hands on the ball. Another Cobham surge in to the Cornish 22 saw O’Reilly scythe up the blindside for his and the teams second try. The extras were missed and the score stood at 15-3.

It was then Cornish’s turn to apply the pressure and Cobham once again found themselves having to defend their line. With Cornish’s catch and drive working wonders they perhaps should have scored mid way through the second half after a fine incision into the Cobham 22 but the home side were relieved to clear their lines. This gave the tall coach the opportunity to bring on some fresh legs and it was with one of his first touches that the crowd witnessed the return of D.Mac – Disco Dave MacCallum – who jinked his way through a number of tackles to score under the posts. Despite having just missed arguably the easiest kickable penalty ever seen, he added the conversion.

The game was still flowing from end to end with both sides intent on all out attack and Cobham got out of trouble with an 80m break (only half of them in a forward direction!) by crazy legs Jamie Durward who after holding on for his support to find him, recycled well. The ball was spun to fly half Dan Taylor who gave a cheeky show inside which opened up the Cornish defence and despite the look of shock on his face darted over for his first try of the season and Cobham’s fourth of the match. MacCallum added the conversion. The final whistle was blown shortly after by the referee who must be praised for controlling the game so well and allowing both teams to play some entertaining rugby.

Congratulations must also go to the Cobham players for their victory and in particular their second half performance but also to the Cornish players and coaching staff for their part in a hard fought game of rugby. Cobham has always enjoyed a very good rapport with London Cornish both on and off the field and Saturday was no exception.

T. Cutter