Gravesend Away-player's match report

Match Report by The Last of the Mohicans

In St George’s Church in Gravesend there is a statue of Pocahontas – it is a little known fact that the famous Virginian Indian and friend of the settlers was in fact buried there.  In March 1617, Pocahontas boarded a ship to return to Virginia from Blighty but only got as far as Gravesend on the River Thames when Pocahontas became gravely ill and subsequently died. Almost four hundred years later and many rugby teams are similarly coming a cropper in this part of Kent as Gravesend RFC have made a real fortress at home. Last year Cobham played the role of Colonial Raiding Party, making a sortie into Gravesend’s hostile settlement and only narrowly escaping with their much prized trophy Sizzling Maiden Two Points – youngest daughter of Big Chief Tough Match. Only a last-gasp intervention from Kevin Fisher on that day saved Cobham from returning home with a beating and the booby prize of Frumpy Eldest Daughter Defeat.

Going into the game Gravesend were so far unbeaten this season, and with a crowd of several hundred, many of whom were well-oiled and vocal after a long-lunch, they would have been confident of taking Cobham’s scalp (not literally – that whole American Indian metaphor has been and gone).  A number of solid victories over Chichester and Dover – both of whom had beaten Cobham this season – suggested the visitors would be up against it, but in recent matches Cobham have show glimpses of what they are capable when they focus and impose their will on opposition. Cobham’s preparation was not ideal with greedy high-scoring flanker Simon Ackroyd ruled out on Thursday and a poorly-located divot in the training pitch accounting for the right ankle of Tim ‘Points Machine’ Green. It almost accounted for fullback Nick Sutton as well but to quote Physio David Silver –“His powers of recovery, resilience and sacrifice are a lesson to us all.”

From the off it was clear Cobham were full of purpose, and what followed in the first half was some of the most powerful and fluent rugby Cobham have played in some time. The Cobham pack - with the front-row of the Andy Alexander, the Paddy Seymour and Heinrich Du Plessis to the fore - had the upper-hand in the scrums, was more dynamic in the loose and gave a lesson in ball-retention. Indeed, much to the delight of the Cobham faithful, Paddy Seymour showed a clean pair of heels at one point, setting off on a twenty metre charge before coming to his senses and finding the welcoming arms of a defender. Cobham also showed more direction than Gravesend in the three-quarters where Arran Cowell directed matters calmly and centres Gregory and Fisher were getting beyond the gain line and giving the Cobham back-row targets to pick up in the midfield.

A half time scoreline of 10-17 belies Cobham’s dominance, as Gravesend picked up points with two isolated trips into Cobham territory – first through a penalty kick and then with a try following a moment of indecision in Cobham’s defence. Cobham’s three tries were well worked efforts, the first coming when good lineout ball was worked from the left wing to the right, recycled and then worked back to the left wing where winger Nick Sutton was able to round the covering defence and dot down following good hands in midfield from Bill Davison and Matt Johnson. The second try came when Heinrich Du Plessis crashed over following concerted pressure from the Cobham pack, and the third score was the result of a well-worked blind side move off a scrum which saw first-team debutant Spencer Franks show remarkable awareness for such a young player and put winger Rob Smedley over the whitewash.

At the break Cobham were well aware that the game was far from won – and perhaps also had last-year’s game in mind, when Gravesend staged a stirring second-half comeback.  Cobham also knew they had the tools to close the game out and were sensing victory provided they could continue where they left off.

It didn’t take long for Cobham to move much closer to the victory, when the pack marched Gravesend a full twenty metres backwards with a catch and drive, leaving flanker Matt Johnson to barrel over from a metre short of the line.  Such a demoralising score to concede could have done for Gravesend, but they were not going down without a fight, and much of the second half saw Cobham defending doggedly and getting key turnovers to deny Gravesend points. The referee dispatched two Cobham players to the sin-bin, one for a deliberate knock-on, the other for not releasing on the floor, as Gravesend continued to assault the Cobham line.

However, Cobham were able to add a well-struck Cowell penalty to edge further in front before Gravesend finally got their deserved reward with back-rower Sox Stevens getting on the scoresheet after Gravesend had repeatedly battered the Cobham defence.  At 15-25 the last few minutes were played out at a frenetic pace with Gravesend looking to run from all over the pitch and Cobham repeatedly putting in sterling defensive work and repelling the Gravesend attackers. A t the final whistle Cobham were clearly delighted with the victory while Gravesend were understandably disappointed at losing their  unblemished record but were nonetheless magnanimous in defeat.

Gravesend are a young and ambitious team with the backing of a thriving club and clearly deserve to be at the top of the league, but this game served as a timely reminder of what Cobham are capable of when they play to their strengths and work cohesively as a team.  Across the board the team put in solid performances, but man of the match was awarded to Heinrich Du Plessis who continues to demonstrate that forty-inch thighs and a shaved-head will get you a long way in this game. Next up for Cobham is Sidcup - a team that beat Cobham home and away last year. The raucous Fairmile Lane crowd will look for Cobham to set that record straight.