After
two consecutive postponed games Cobham reignited their Season and thrilled
their supporters by defeating 5th placed Sidcup.
Following the
snow of the previous two weeks this match was played in glorious rugby
weather i.e. rain and with Sidcup coming to the Memorial grounds having
lost their last three games Cobham wanted that sequence to continue.
Cobham,
with a strong line up, had the better of both possession and territory in the
first ten minutes and with excellent box kicking from scrum half Kennard and
strong running from the backs it culminated in a well taken penalty by full
back Ashton 3-0.
The
Sidcup backline hadn't had an opportunity to fire during this period but when
it did it needed a try saving tackle from Captain Cowell however a
subsequent scrum infringement enabled Sidcup number 10 Ubee to draw the
scores level at 3-3.
Cobham
came straight back with a surging run from Cowell deep into the Sidcup twenty
-two, feeding Bates but the visitors defence held firm on this
occasion. Sidcup then lost a player to the sin bin and following some
excellent forward work by the Cobham pack, David Kearsey in particular, it
provided Luke Flower with the possession to put Kevin Fisher in for a well
taken first try. 8-3 .Ashton's conversion hit the post in what was to be his
only miss of the afternoon.
Cobham
then had their first yellow card infringement when Billy Bates was penalised
for a high tackle, although it was certainly not intentional .Both sides
therefore played 14 aside rugby for the final five minutes of the first half
but with Cobham remaining in the ascendancy.
No
one knows what Luke Flower had for breakfast but what ever it was it had
appeared to have given him an extra 10 yards speed and only strong defence from
Sidcup prevented another score but with the first half drawing to a close
there was a brief 'handbags' moment. From the ensuing penalty Sidcup just
failed to narrow the gap when Ubee missed his penalty attempt.
'Words'
must have been said during the Sidcup half time talk because now restored
to fifteen they came out for the second half looking a completely
different side and within minutes had scored their first try when centre Day
broke and despite another chased down tackle from Cowell he was able to
feed McRae for the scores to be level at 8-8.
Through
the boot of Ashton Cobham regained the lead 11-8 but then came a sustained
period of pressure from Sidcup which looked to have decided the game. Consistent
rolling mauls from the visitors brought them close to the Cobham line
and when the home side got their second yellow card for bringing the maul
down the Kent
side finally achieved their objective and took the lead for the first time
11-13.
The Ref
was taking a consistently hard line with regards to transgressions so following
a small 'disagreement' following the try we were to see two further yellow
cards issued. The teams were now getting close to rugby league
numbers with thirteen playing fourteen and as the penalty fest
continued Sidcup's Ubee took advantage and collecting his own smart
kick ahead scored under the posts and then converted his try to make it
11-20.
If
the home supporters were starting to feel this was a lost cause the players
certainly weren't and with Cobham back up to 14 players Leon Van Nierkerk
pretended he was a scrum half, took a quick tap penalty and powered over close
to the posts for Ashton to convert 18-20.
With
just 7 minutes to play it was game on. Luke Flower took Cobham back into Sidcup
territory the ball passed down the backs to Bates who took it close to the
try line and from the ensuing ruck Kennard sent the ball along the backs to the
other side of the pitch and supported by his pack Jack Davison scored a typical
driven over try 23-20. Ashton converted once again and with the score 25-20 the
final whistle blew.
It
is at these moments that the home supporters produce their best
irony with comments such as 'Never in doubt' and 'Always said they would
win' . It was actually only Cobham's second home
win this season but the manner in which they came back to take it will
have increased their confidence to play Hayward's Heath next week at the third
attempt.
Paul
Hickson
Squad:
Donoghue
( Joyce)
Mayer
Nunn
Kearsey
( Kunkler)
Davison
(W)
Van
Nierkerk
Rodman
Davison
(J)
Kennard
Flower
Bates
Cowell
Fisher
Harty
Ashton
Subs
Moreton
Kunkler
Joyce
Tries:-
Fisher, Van Nierkerk,Davison
Conversion:-
Ashton (2)
Penalties:-
Ashton (2)
