1st XV
Matches
Sat 08 Oct 2016  ·  London 2 South West
London Cornish
32
24
Camberley Rugby Football Club
1st XV
Tries: A Hughes, D Emerton , O Gbla, D NealConversions: T Dunn (2)
Four Try Cam denied by League Leaders

Four Try Cam denied by League Leaders

Roger Berry8 Oct 2016 - 19:34
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Cams visit to London Cornish saw an excellent game with both sides claiming a bonus point try but Cornish claiming the 4 points

The visit to Cornish was always going to provide the coaching team with good view as to the progress of their fast developing, young, athletic squad and after an excellent, physical game they found that they came up just short against a very competent, experienced and streetwise team who will be difficult to knock off their table topping position.
In a really competitive game Cam, who in patches played some excellent flowing rugby, managed to score 4 tries but always found themselves just behind a very physical side who, having played at this level for many seasons, were just too experienced.
The game started poorly for the black and ambers when they were penalised at the kick off giving the home side the advantage immediately.
We then witnessed almost 10 mins of excellent defence by Cam as they repelled a series of attacks and in fact they even managed to turn over ball on several occasions to escape their 22 but in the end a Cam scrum on their 22 saw the ball shoot out of the back of the scrum forcing the startled Cam defence to hold on and concede a penalty which Cornish converted.
From the restart a chip ahead by Cornish went dead and from the resultant scrum Cam set up several phases before drawing a penalty which TommyD pushed just wide.
Cornish then set up another attacking position in the Cam 22 but the danger was relieved when a great break saw Ollie Wright (who had already made a huge impact in defence with some crunching tackles) cut through the home defence and make 50m before being stopped by a last ditch tackle by the fullback.
The game continued in this vein with neither side giving an inch until Cornish doubled their score with another penalty on 35 mins.
Whether it was tiredness or simply a case of switching off but Cam then allowed the home side to cross the whitewash just on the stroke of half time making the score 13-0.
Cornish came out all guns blazing at the start of the second half and within 5 mins had scored another try when they turned over Cam possession at a 5m lineout and at 18-0 their supporters at least thought the game was done and dusted, but not this young Cam side.
So with 10mins gone Oyoni, TommyA and Henry Tagg tore through the opposition only for the move to be ended illegally which gave Cam a good attacking position and the Cornish 10 a short break on the sidelines.
From the 5m linout Cam went through several phases before the ball was eventually pushed wide and a beautiful half break by TommyD saw him pop the ball to Hughsey for a good try under the posts converted by Tommy to get the black and ambers onto the scoreboard.
However the restart was not managed at all well and from the resultant scrum on the Cam 22 the impressive #8 brushed off some pretty ineffectual attempted tackles to restore the 18 point margin.
This end to end rugby continued when, direct from the restart, the home side conceded a penalty which was played into the corner and from the resultant lineout Dylan Emerton crossed for a try wide out which TommyD converted in off the post making the score 25-14.
The next ten mins saw both sides exerting great effort in the fight for dominance and it was Cam who scored next when a move which started in their 22 saw Oyoni, Hughsey and TommyA all involved until Oyoni burned off the opposition to collect and dot down a clever chip by TommyA bringing the margin down to 6 points.
This, however only stung the Cornish into action again and from a scrum on the Cam 10m line the Cornish #8 picked up from the base of the scrum and went over for another try.
Despite the sheer exhaustion which so many of the players were clearly experiencing there was one more score to be witnessed as, direct from the restart, Cam took play deep into the Cornish red zone again and great forward pressure against a visibly tiring Cornish pack saw birthday boy Dan Neal force his way over the try and a final score of 32-24 and a try bonus point which was the least Risey's young squad deserved for the massive effort they had put in.
Overall this was an excellent game between a very experienced and physical side and a young, talented but largely inexperienced team with experience and physicality just winning out this time.
Hopefully the young squad will take a lot from this encounter in which their defence for most of the game was excellent and their willingness to run from anywhere often bore fruit.
Yet another really tough day for the pack who all, to a man, put in a big shift in the tight and also in defence.
The backs also performed heroics in defence, showed what they can do with ball in hand and overall looked after the ball much better than in previous games.
Overall I'm sure that Risey, Ash and JJ will be quietly satisfied with this performance remembering that 2 seasons ago a lot of these boys were playing level 9 and they will be looking forward to planning for the return game.
Next week at Watchetts the 1s entertain Bromley in the first round of our National Cup competition - please watch the web site for ko time.
And finally a better day for the C&Ws who came away from Sandy Park with a draw although they did enjoy a 12 point lead going into the last 10 mins and could even have lost if the Exeter conversion had succeeded.

Match details

Match date

Sat 08 Oct 2016

Kickoff

14:15

Competition

London 2 South West

League position

1
London Cornish
3
Camberley
Team overview
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