Submitted for publication in the Dorking & Leatherhead Advertiser
Cobham ran in seven tries in their comprehensive 53-17 victory over London Cornish.
Cobham returned to the Memorial Grounds after a weekend break, and their very creditable performance away against league champions London Welsh.
Steve Pope’s side provided their supporters with their best points tally since the final game of the 2017/18 season.
Director of rugby Pope said: “Very pleasing to see lads build on the performance at Welsh, with a win.
“We are very mindful everything we are doing this season is building towards a fun and enjoyable club environment with simple values at the heart of it.
“We were able to field two strong sides this weekend and it’s our hope that as more players return to fitness, we will have a really competitive group driving the rugby forwards.”
“Well done to Cornish; we always enjoy their company and it is always a decent match.
“Today we were on the right side of the score line, but I’m sure they will build as the season progresses and we wish them well. Congratulations to our boys; rest up before we go again next weekend.”
Read More
There were home debuts for Luke Westgarth-Taylor and Darren Clayton, as Cobham dominated the opening ten minutes.
The territorial advantage saw them secure an early penalty from Ant Braithwaite and a pushover try from No. 8 Doug Rodman, set up by the first of many lineout takes by second row Joe Goddard. Braithwaite converted to put the hosts 10-0 ahead.
Having been rocked back by the initial onslaught, the visitors settled and pushed Cobham back into their half, but it was always going to difficult when advantage could not be taken from their lineouts.
There was a short period where every play from both sides was to kick for advantage, but following a missed penalty and a lineout steal, Clayton was presented with the opportunity to run through the visitors’ defence and score a converted try.
Cobham’s passing all afternoon was of a very high standard and although they conceded a long-range penalty to Cornish, the back line looked commanding.
Scrum-half Tiernan White featured in the next two scores, deftly offloading to full-back Dan Allchurch to score under the posts, before breaking the Cornish defence himself for a try that put Cobham into a dominant 31-3 lead.
That looked to be game over for London Cornish despite Rodman being held up, only for a further penalty from Braithwaite to start the second half.
Cornish then had a long spell when for 20 minutes they were camped out in the Cobham 22.
Looking composed and sharp, Cornish tested the side from Cobham, Surrey, across the width of the field.
Although this period of play was not what Pope will have wanted to see, it did demonstrate the success of all the time that spent put into the defensive line training.
When Cobham were able to break out of their half and win a lineout, Goddard’s take ultimately ensured that hooker Ben Joyce could get himself onto the scoresheet close to the posts.
In the final quarter, Cornish were able to take advantage of their possession and territorial advantage to claim their opening try.
However Cobham responded ruthlessly and released the ball across the backline to put Rory Penfold in at the corner and with the half century in sight, winger Max MacDonald tore down the line and offloaded to Allchurch for his second try at 53-10.
There was time left for Cornish to claim a further consolation score, but this was a comprehensive display by Cobham and finished with a final score of 53-17.
Get all the latest news, updates, things to do and more from your local InYourArea feed.
https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/cobham-claim-seven-tries-in-comfortable-54-17-win-over-london-cornish/
