How did you do today Dickon?.  

--Last edited by merlin on 2007-12-08 22:05:24 --

Sickening defeat by 20-19 after ref found reasons to bin 3 of our players and not one of theirs until there was only 1 minute left in the second half when we were in control of the game. We fielded a very young side and need to learn how to win in spite of referees on some occasions.  

--Last edited by DICKON on 2007-12-09 21:27:26 --

Bummer!  

Bop, don't be rude to Dickon, he was only giving his opinion!

Unlucky chaps,now to concentrate on the league and good luck with that.  

Very good, NB!

Quote :

DICKON wrote : Sickening defeat by 20-19 after ref found reasons to bin 3 of our players in the second half when we were in control of the game. We fielded a very young side and need to learn how to win in spite of referees on some occasions.

When are you taking your ELRA course for aspiring new referees then Dickon? There is one at Rosslyn Park RFC on 7/8 Jan and 14/15 Jan 08. More details at:
http://www.community-rugby.com/communityrugby/index.cfm/Fuseaction/Home.Story/StoryTypeId/101/SectionId/1270/StoryId/14848.cfm
At least then you will realise that they can only decide based upon what is in front of them.
I am sure you spoke with him (or her?)  after the game and received a more detailed reason for the sin binning over a pint.....

EDF SENIOR VASE 4th ROUND
08/12/07
HAMMERSMITH & FULHAM v LONDON CORNISH

Hammersmith & Fulham 20 - London Cornish 19

London Cornish contrived to lose a game they should have won as their 9th away tie in their last 10 national cup rounds saw them exit the Senior Vase for this season. Cornish will reflect that the 3 sin bins in the match and an utter failure to comprehend the interpretation of the rules by the referee cost them dear, for they were in front for long periods of the game and failed to take advantage of a very strong wind in their favour in the second period.

It is frustrating to report that Cornish had to make 8 changes to the squad that had been so successful in the previous round, 5 through injury plus 3 unenforced absences disrupting the continuity that had aided the clubs recent revival. On a heavy pitch in dark, overcast conditions Cornish played into the wind in the opening half and for the second week running were quickly out of the traps. Fly half Dan Pollard chipped a kick into space on 4 minutes and after gathering the ball, the clearance kick by a hesitant home back was charged down by wing George Bramble, who recovered the ball, handed off a tackle and dived over to score wide left. The conversion attempt was always going to require a Wilkinsonesque strike and though it was well struck, it faded across the posts. Cornish dominated for the next 15 minutes, quick rucking providing good ball to drive further up the pitch, but on 19 minutes conceded a penalty for a high tackle. H&F kicked the ball to the corner and a 14 man drive saw them crash over on the clubhouse side of the pitch, the conversion with the wind a formality. Though now behind, the visitors looked the dominant side in most aspects of the game and they regained the lead on 18 minutes when Pollard struck a penalty into the wind. From the restart open side Rod Petre drove deep into home territory and when quick ball was recycled, it was worked wide to Bramble who this time was tackled into touch. Still Cornish pressed, a kick to the corner now setting up a great position five metres from the home line. As Cornish rolled the maul toward the line, it was dropped by the home side and they lay right across the top of the ball. A Cornish forward tried to ruck the offending player off the ball only for the referee to deem the offence dangerous and send the exile for a 10 minute break. Repreated offences by the H&F side saw them concede a further kickable penalty on 32 minutes, Pollard again finding his range to extend the lead to 11-7. With Dave Hill and Chris Milne securing decent lineout ball from the quality throwing in of hooker Mike Allewell, Cornish were producing decent quality ball, but the exceptionally strong wind made it difficult to put real width on the ball and the hard yards were having to be made close in. At scrum time Cornish were profligate on a number of occasions in attacking positions during this opening half, the ball either knocked on or flick passes misplaced to reduce the attacking threat. Finally, on 36 minutes the exiles gained greater reward for their domination. Skipper Rob Aird drove into midfield and the ball was worked from right to left along the H&F 22. The recalled Josh Bartley-Smith saw a smidgeon of a gap in the oppo backline and accelerated through, a despairing last ditch tackle not enough to prevent him planting the ball over the whitewash for the score, the conversion attempt again sliding wide. Crucially, the home side managed to win a penalty just before half time, which their kicker slotted. The half time whistle went with Cornish 16-10 to the good.

Cornish were forced into a change at the break, St Ives man Ben Wheeler replaced at prop by Truro man James Turnbull who joined the returning Ben Shribman up front. Seemingly buoyed by being so close to Cornish despite barely spending any time in the visiting half in the opening period, it was H&F who started the second period the sharper. Reducing their gameplan to 10 man rugby, they drove close in to rucks and mauls to gain ground, helped by a series of penalties given against Cornish for a plethora of alleged offences. With Cornish reduced a man up front, the home side set another rolling maul up and drove over the line on the left flank to reduce the arrears to 1 on 44 minutes. Both flanker Will Ho and Allewell suffered knocks in this opening section of the game, and shortly afterward Ho departed on 50 minutes, Ashley Holloway coming on at hooker and Allewell moving to blind side. H&F thought they had scored again on 54 minutes but were called back for crossing down the right flank. When Cornish did clear their lines, they were now unable to secure possession from the following set piece, allowing the home side to build phases of play. Apart from a sharp break by wing Mike Harvey down one wing, there were few opportunities for the backs in half, neither side able to break down the other out wide. With their man back on the pitch, Cornish began to retain possession, and after a fine kick from Pollard and a scrambled clearance, H&F were penalised for a man again lying all over the ball just yards from the home line, the incredulous Cornish support unable to comprehend how that offence was not worthy of a card. Pollard stepped up to ease his side out to a 19-15 lead with 20 minutes left. Back came the home side, the exiles seemingly penalised at every breakdown and the referee having one of those tough days when he was checking behind his back for one offence when another was happening in front of him, H&F particularly cute at getting away with this. The exiles made another change now, bringing on the evergreen Jim Chilcott for Milne at 8. On 68 minutes, H&F were given a 6 phase advantage for a penalty, at odds with all previous advantages played in the match. When play was finally brought to a halt, an astonished Cornish side saw a back row player consigned to the bin for an offside. The penalty was then kicked to the corner and as the referee checked the drive on one wide, the ball broke the other. A scramble of players were on the floor over the try line, a try deemed scored despite the impossible position from which the referee could have seen the play. The kick was missed but the home side were now ahead. A final change saw the exiles move full back Adam McVicar into 9 for Mike Dardis, Tim Mucken making a welcome return to first team action at 15. With 6 minutes left Bartley-Smith latched onto a spilt home ball on half way and fly hacked through. He gather the ball just yards from the home line only to be felled within sniffing distance of the whitewash. On this occasion the absolutely no advantage was played for Cornish to retrieve quick ball, a scrum 5 awarded instead. The ball was worked to inside centre Henry Mitchell on the crash and as a hand came in from the home side to scoop the ball back on the floor in the ruck, the referee saw another offence against the visitors to give H&F the chance to clear their lines. They ran down the clock playing sensible rugby, both sides reduced a further man following a touchline fracas with just seconds left. The final whistle went on a disappointing afternoon for Cornish, their inability to keep 15 men on the pitch ultimately to blame for their defeat.

H&F have risen a few divisions in recent seasons and have a similar set up to Cornish, changing and playing facilities in one location, post match meals in a pub. To compound the felony of dumping Cornish out of the Cup, not only does their fly half have a pony tail, the Wheatsheef had no real ale or bitter on tap, a truly heinous state of affairs! There are some decent people running their club, and we wish them well in the next round. The young Cornish side simply have to learn from this defeat. The season bares a startling comparison to their first one in the regional leagues, the side struggling to come to terms with the division early on and knocked out of the Cup before Christmas. In every season since the current coaching team have been in place, Cornish have never been higher placed in the respective league than the position attained on the final day of the season, testament to the fact that this side just gets stronger and stronger as the season goes on. With no Cup now to concentrate on, the focus returns to securing the highest place in the league that the club has ever had in its history.

LCRFC – Adam McVicar, George Bramble, Josh Bartley-Smith, Henry Mitchell, Mike Harvey, Dan Pollard, Mike Dardis (Tim Mucken), Chris Milne (Jim Chilcott), Rod Petre, Will Ho (Ashley Holloway), Rob Aird (Capt.), Dave Hill, Ben Shribman, Mike Allewell, Ben Wheeler (James Turnbull).

Lelantlad - all I ask for is consistency in a game. Even a consistently wrong ref is at least equal to both sides....Yes, I had a good chat with the ref after the game and he was a decent bloke. I just think he had a poor game and on those rare occasions I make a point of waiting 48 hours before marking the refs report card to ensure I give a rational and reasoned  response.  

--Last edited by DICKON on 2007-12-09 21:56:10 --

Thanks for the report Dickon.

Good report Dickon and it seems that London Society missed a chance to have appointed TJs to this game to help support what seemed to be a beleagured Referee.
I am sure he went away more informed from this game and your constructive discussion and subsequent report card will have better educated him for future games.

Talking of touch judges, what a breath of fresh air Debbie Innes was on Saturday at redruth, no offence lelantlad but she does move bit better than you

Quote :

Bill wrote : Talking of touch judges, what a breath of fresh air Debbie Innes was on Saturday at redruth, no offence lelantlad but she does move bit better than you

But did you not mean "bits of her move......"  
See you on Saturday and a chat after with Chris?

See you on Saturday.

LelantLad, I bet you had to jiggle around with the wording to make sure there was no non-PC statements in there.

Quote :

DaveH wrote : LelantLad, I bet you had to jiggle around with the wording to make sure there was no non-PC statements in there.

I'm sure there was plenty of that going on in the officials changing room.......
Check the Redruth site and photo gallery for some interesting actions by the officials behind the posts.....

I have heard about behind the bike shed, but behind the posts, that is ridiculous.

Well done to London Cornish big win 66 - 5

Nice one Dickon,you must be pleased.

LONDON 3 SOUTH-WEST
15/12/07
LONDON CORNISH v OLD WIMBLEDONIANS

London Cornish 62 - Old Wimbledonians 5

A thoroughly disciplined and clinical performance by London Cornish saw them score 9 tries to record their 5th win in the last 6 league matches in London 3 South-West on Saturday. The win lifted the side up to 7th place in the division, and more importantly 7 points clear of the relegation zone.

With Pete Calvert restored to the row after a 2 week absence, Dave Hill switched to the bench. Full debuts were given to Frenchman Nicolas Patte at blind side in place of the injured Will Ho, and Ulsterman Keith Thompson at 13 in place of the unavailable Henry Mitchell, Josh Bartley-Smith moving inside to 12. With Adam McVicar and George Bramble also unavailable, Tim Mucken came in at 15 and Jim Strover returned on the wing. The game began on a bright, cold December afternoon in near still conditions, the recent frost having completely thawed to leave underfoot conditions near perfect for running rugby. Thus it proved from the off, Cornish instantly on the attack and winning a penalty on 4 minutes, which fly half Dan Pollard notched to give his side the lead. On 7 minutes Strover recovered a clearing kick inside his own half and set off up field to release Bartley-Smith. He slid an inch perfect kick beyond the OW backs that rolled to within 4 feet of the try line, Mucken the quickest to react as he dashed through, regathered the ball and dived over the whitewash to score, the conversion attempt sliding wide. Tackled awkwardly in the act of passing, Strover turned an ankle and was replaced on the wing by another debutant in Matt Godsall. The quick rucking approach that has been a hallmark of the recent Cornish revival saw the side drive upfield on 18 minutes, Pollard finding prop Ben Wheeler at his shoulder inside the OW 22. Juggling as he crashed through, Wheeler controlled the ball well to thunder across the line under the posts, Pollard adding the extras to ease his side out to a 15-0 lead. Frequently caught offside during the match at both the breakdown and out wide, OW's were penalised in kickable range, Pollard twice slotting kicks to move the lead out to 21-0, the latter penalty precipitated by a powerful break by replacement Godsall. A flowing move between forwards and backs on 28 minutes saw no 8 Chris Milne link with right wing Mike Harvey whose searing pace took him clear of the cover to score near the posts, Pollard again making the score a maximum. With hooker Mike Allewell nailing his men at the lineouts, and Calvert and Milne causing trouble for OW's on their throw ins, the tackle count for the visitors was huge in the first half hour. When they did finally gain any possession, they were frequently turned over, Rod Petre setting up a drive into oppo territory on 35 minutes supported by prop Ben Shribman, the recycled ball again finding its way to Harvey to finish, the kick missing on this occasion. The last 5 minutes of the half belonged to the visitors, who smashed their way into the Cornish 22 for the first time. Just when Cornish appeared to have cleared, the oppo 15 countered and broke through. Drawing his opposite number he slipped the ball to his right wing who managed to squeeze in for a fine score by the scoreboard, despite a fine covering tackle from Petre. The kick was missed but the score was followed by a few stern words from Skipper Rob Aird, incensed that his side had let their guard drop after a decent 39 minutes work, his side 33-5 to the good at the break.

Cornish have been guilty of seemingly 'resting' for 20 minutes during matches, so it was important to keep the focus from the start of the second period. They got the early score they wanted on 44 minutes when a fly hack by Bartley-Smith was kicked on by Thompson for Petre to poach a try by grounding the ball over the try line, Pollard driving the conversion between the posts. Aird immediately succumbed to a strain, Hill coming on at lock in a straight swap and Allewell assuming the Skippers mantle. Cornish were camped deep inside the for some time at this point, a series of defensive scrums just scrambling the ball to safety. OW's employed their 'no contest' tactic to offensive lineouts to disrupt Cornish ball on a couple of occasions, but inexplicably tried to run the ball out of defence to be turned over, prop Ben Shribman and Patte particularly adept at picking the pockets of the OW ball. On 51 minutes Cornish set up a maul on the OW 22 after a good run by Thompson was supported by the rampaging Calvert. The OW defence had no answer as they were inexorably driven all the way back over their line for Wheeler to claim his second score near the scoreboard, the conversion missing. The next score came from a pick up and drive by Milne from the base of the scrum, plunging across the line to score in a similar spot to the previous score. Though the conversion went wide, the score was now out to 50-5. Cornish made a final change, bringing on Club Captain James Turnbull for Wheeler at this stage. Scrum half Mike Dardis orchestrated the forwards well, mixing the game with Pollard to keep the OW back row guessing. Only the oppo 15, enjoying a decent game and making ground on most occasions when in possession, caused any real problems for Cornish. On 68 minutes Thompson deservedly added his name to the scoresheet, a jinking run after a half break from Bartley-Smith seeing him open his account half way in to the right of the posts for Pollard to add the extras again. Saving the best until last, the final score saw Harvey claim his hat-trick, a flowing counter attack from the home 22 giving Harvey a smidgeon of space. It was all he needed as he left the cover for dead and burnt down the right flank to score out wide before the cover mowed him down, the conversion attempt slamming into the near upright to leave the final score in this well refereed encounter 62-5 to the exiles.

After a mauling such as this, it would have been easy for Old Wimbledonians to head the short distance home to lick their wounds, but credit to them for coming back to The Telegraph and fronting up. It is a pity their 2nd XV should completely let the club down for the second time in recent weeks, failing to field a side after confirming the fixture on a number of occasions, leaving our 2s standing on the pitch waiting for an opposition who never appeared. It is undoubtedly tough to keep going when your sides are getting beaten most weeks, but OW's need to get to grips with the situation or they will lose some of the decent players they do have. Recruitment would surely be helped by updating a website still untouched since April. We wish them well in their quest. Cornish reach the break in decent form, the gathering momentum enhanced by the Christmas Party, which left your correspondent tired and emotional! The side probably need a couple more wins to be abolutely sure of their status for next season, the club determined to climb the table in the second half of the season.

LCRFC – Tim Mucken, James Strover (Matt Godsall), Keith Thompson, Josh Bartley-Smith, Mike Harvey, Dan Pollard, Mike Dardis, Chris Milne, Rod Petre, Nicolas Patte, Rob Aird (Capt.)(Dave Hill), Pete Calvert, Ben Shribman, Mike Allewell, Ben Wheeler (James Turnbull).