🏉 Cornwall RLFC perform admirably in defeat to promotion-chasing Workington
Cornwall’s brilliant recent run of form was ended by promotion chasing Workington Town after a keenly contested affair in the Duchy.
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⬇️ In today’s newsletter ⬇️
〓〓 Cornwall RLFC perform admirably in defeat to promotion-chasing Workington
Choughs chief Abbott refuses to give up on play-offs
📸 IN PICTURES: Cornwall RLFC 16-34 Workington Town
〓〓 Cornwall RLFC perform admirably in defeat to promotion-chasing Workington
Cornwall 16, Workington Town 34
By Gareth Davies at Memorial Ground
Cornwall’s brilliant recent run of form was ended by promotion chasing Workington Town after a keenly contested affair in the Duchy.
Victory for the visitors — their sixth on the trot — was hard fought against a Cornwall side who matched Workington for long periods of the game.
It wasn’t until the 59th minute that the Cumbrian outfit finally pulled clear when on-loan Wigan youngster Reagan Sumner crossed for his second try of the afternoon.
Before this point in the match, neither side had been able to build any kind of real momentum, even though Workington held a 20-4 interval lead.
Cornwall scored first after the break through Cam Brown and despite Jordan Burns replying in kind shortly after, Adam Rusling’s fortunate effort after 54 minutes, which he then converted, reduced the gap to just eight points.
Sumner then gave Workington breathing space and eight minutes from time, with Cornwall down to 11 men after yellow cards for Brown and skipper Liam Whitton, the visitors made victory safe through Burns’ second score of the afternoon.
Coming into the match full of confidence after wins over London Skolars and Midlands in their previous two games, Cornwall shipped the first try of the game after just seven minutes when giant prop Stevie Scholey powered his way over from close range.
The outstanding Ciaran Walker converted to give the Cumbrians an early 6-0 lead.
In the return fixture at Derwent Park in June, Workington also scored early and a Cornwall side depleted by injury, then failed to stem the Town tide. But a yardstick to Cornwall’s progress saw the hosts dig in and they scored next.
Burns was sent to the bin by referee Ryan Cox after he ran in and sparked a melee and from the next passage of play, Coby Nichol finished brilliantly out wide for his third try in as many games.
Rusling couldn’t convert but Cornwall had their tails up. However, Town held firm and once back to a full complement, they scored three tries in eight minutes.
Brown diffused Walker’s bomb but was penalised and from the resulting penalty, Malik Steele ran a brilliant flat line to score. The extras were added by Walker before luck favoured the visitors.
Nichol couldn’t grasp a grubber kick and the ball found its way into Sumner’s arms and he had a stroll in. The Town lead was then further extended before half-time when prolific winger Sean Sabutey plucked a high kick from the air despite the attentions of both Whitton and Brown.
After the break, Cornwall drew first blood when Brown pounced on Rusling’s kick into the in-goal to register his 11th try of the season to date. The score was improved upon by Rusling and Cornwall were well in the game once more.
It appeared that Workington had wrestled back control when Burns chimed into the three-quarter line and scored but another missed conversion from Walker kept Cornwall’s chances alive.
And the candle of hope burnt a little brighter after 54 minutes when Workington once again couldn’t deal with Rusling’s short kicking game. The former Castleford and Hull Kingston Rovers youngster managed to pounce on his own kick to dot down and turn it into a six-point score.
Workington then resorted to sensible game management tactics of kicking the ball into touch on the last, forcing the hosts to play from deep. But Cornwall struggled to break through a well-drilled defence and further scores by Sumner and Burns secured another two competition points, either side of a harsh yellow card for Brown and one for Whitton after tempers boiled over as time ticked down.
Match information
Cornwall: Whitton, Brown, Croston, Ashton, Nichol, Punchard, Rusling, Hartshorne, Collins, Newbound, Cullen, Weetman, Lloyd. Interchange (all used): Barraclough, Dimech, I Badham, E Badham.
Tries: Nichol (17), Brown (44), Rusling (54). Goals: Rusling 2/3
Sinbin: Brown (68) - professional foul, Whitton (71) - other contrary behaviour
Workington: Burns, Sumner, Sabutey, Bickerdike, Burns, Walker, Forber, Thomson, Mallinson, Scholey, Bradley, Steele, Stephenson. Interchange (all used): Marwood, Kirkup, McAvoy, McNicholas.
Tries: Scholey (7), Steele (26), Sumner (31,59), Sabutey (34), Burns (47, 72). Goals: Walker 3/7
Sinbin: Burns (17) - running in
Referee: Ryan Cox
〓〓 Choughs chief Abbott refuses to give up on play-offs
By Gareth Davies
Defiant Cornwall RLFC head coach Mike Abbott refused to concede that his side’s slim hopes of making the play-offs were over after they were defeated 34-16 by Workington Town at the Memorial Ground on Sunday.
Consecutive wins over London Skolars and Midlands Hurricanes, in the Choughs’ previous two games, had raised hopes of a late charge to the end of season shake-up but this latest reverse leaves the side four points adrift of sixth-placed North Wales Crusaders.
The two teams meet next Sunday and crucially, Cornwall have a game in hand on Carl Foster’s nomadic outfit.
However, with seventh-placed Rochdale just two points behind North Wales and with a game in hand on both Cornwall and Crusaders, Abbott’s troops are still alive but only just and realistically, need to win all their remaining matches to make the top six.
“Going forward, we are not writing this season off by any stretch,” Abbott told cornwallrlfc.co.uk. “We will go into our last four games at 100 miles an hour to get results because that is where we are at as a team now. The performances we put in warrants results against the other teams in this division.”
In a bruising and at times feisty affair against the Cumbrians, Cornwall found themselves behind thanks to prop Stevie Scholey’s early score. But the hosts opened their account shortly after when winger Coby Nichol touched down for his third try in as many games.
Workington took control and registered three further first half tries through Reagan Sumner, Malik Steele and Sean Sabutey to lead 20-4 at the turnaround.
Cameron Brown’s 11th try of the campaign four minutes into the second half gave Cornwall hope but Jordan Burns replied in kind to keep Workington in command.
Adam Rusling then bagged a fortunate try after 54 minutes to cut the cap to eight points before further scores from Sumner and Burns meant the two competition points were heading back to Cumbria.
Abbott added: “I thought that neither team ever got into their stride and although Workington go away with the win, if either side had used some initiative to build pressure, they would have kicked on.
“The score went from 10-4 to 20-4 in the blink of an eye but we were still confident at half-time. We spoke about playing a bit quicker and being smarter in attack with more endeavour.
“Our start in the second half showed that we did all those things with the try coming from a little kick. We knew Workington were a tough side defensively and they don’t concede many points so we had to be creative and do something a little bit different.
“Even though we started after half-time well, we didn’t build enough pressure within the game and eventually, it was one that got away from us.”
Abbott was keen to stress that whilst his initial post match thought was one of disappointment, he was not too downbeat as the return fixture at Derwent Park in early June resulted in a heavy Cornish reverse.
“I’m not completely negative about our performance because when you compare it to the return fixture at their place, we lost 54-0,” the Mem chief remarked. “You can see the progress we have made and I’m not trying to be negative when I assess our performance, but my feelings come from a place where we know how much we have improved as a team.
“I thought there was something to be gained from this game because of our two previous wins. I said beforehand that Workington would keep us honest for longer and they did that, but we stayed in the game and were always within touching distance.
“If we had got back into it then they would have got edgy because nobody wants to come here and get beat.”
📸 IN PICTURES: Cornwall RLFC 16-34 Workington Town
By Colin Bradbury and Matt Friday
Check out our gallery from Sunday’s match at the Memorial Ground, as Cornwall RLFC were narrowly beaten by promotion-chasing Workington Town.
Have a great week!
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