🏉 Cornwall Rugby: Double delight for Cornwall as Skolars are put to the sword
Cornwall RLFC secured a history-making league double with a comfortable and thoroughly deserved victory over London Skolars; Maturity shown in Skolars win pleases Choughs chief Mike Abbott
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〓〓 Double delight for Cornwall as Skolars are put to the sword
💪 Maturity shown in Skolars win pleases Choughs chief Abbott
〓〓 Double delight for Cornwall as Skolars are put to the sword
London Skolars 14, Cornwall 30
By Gareth Davies at New River Stadium
Cornwall RLFC secured a history-making league double with a comfortable and thoroughly deserved win over London Skolars.
After defeating the capital outfit 35-10 at the Memorial in March, Cornwall repeated the dose in North London with this victory clearly showing how the fledgling Betfred League 1 side, playing in just their second professional campaign, are progressing.
It means that the side have doubled their win tally from last year and for the first time ever, lowered the colours of the same club in both home and away matches during a single campaign.
The win was made even sweeter for Cornwall after a less than ideal preparation with both Decarlo Trerise and Cameron Brown missing out through a sickness bug. These absences prompted a team reshuffle with Cornishman George Mitchell playing on the wing - his first game for six weeks after a hamstring injury.
But Mitchell was outstanding in both attack and defence, fully justifying his selection and on another day, with a little more luck, would have registered a first try in Cornwall colours.
Along with Mitchell, there were other notable performances from one to seventeen in a Cornwall shirt. Led brilliantly by skipper Liam Whitton, the visitors got their noses in front early in the piece and that set the tone for what followed.
Heavy rain in the hour before kick-off made conditions less than ideal and the wet 4G surface at the New River Stadium tested both teams in the early exchanges.
But Cornwall settled well and the first signs that London’s ill-discipline, that would hamper them throughout, came to the fore.
A testing Adam Rusling kick was fielded by Jacob Thomas and after a good chase from Nathan Cullen and Mitchell, London felt that merry whistle blower Matthew Lynn should have awarded a penalty to the home side. They took their protestations too far and were penalised for dissent on tackle one, in their own red-zone.
Cornwall smelt blood and they went for the kill as after loading up on the left edge, Rusling’s delayed pass was perfect for Cullen who crashed over from close range. Rusling, who was outstanding throughout, came up with his only blemish of a near faultless individual performance when the conversion hit the woodwork.
And it got even better for Cornwall after 14 minutes when a penalty for a high tackle on Tom Ashton put Cornwall in range again. The London right edge was again targeted by Cornwall and Ashton cut back inside to power over for his third try of the campaign.
Rusling, from an almost identical position to Cullen’s try, did manage to convert to stretch the lead to 10-0.
It got even worse for London just shy of the 20 minute mark when hooker Alex Deery knocked the ball out of Rusling’s hand and was sent to the sinbin for delaying the restart.
However, the 12-men were handed a way back into the game in fortunate circumstances when Errol Carter, playing against his former club, fumbled a high ball and Leighton Ball picked up the scraps to score.
Phil Lyon, returning to the Skolars’ line-up for the first time in 2023, kicked a wonderful touchline conversion to bring the hosts to within four points of Cornwall’s tally.
Cornwall recovered well at shipping points for the first time and Rusling’s chip kick was perfectly gathered by Mitchell who was hauled down just shy of the London line. On the last tackle, Rusling kicked through but the ball just evaded the fingertips of Jake Lloyd.
Rusling’s intelligent kicking game, which was a feature for Cornwall throughout, then contributed to a third away score after 34 minutes.
With London’s line flat, Rusling kicked low and hard in the direction of centre Jerome Yates and after the ball bounced off his chest, it was loose on the floor. Rusling, showing skills more akin to the round ball game kicked through and eventually Ieuan Badham, on at interchange with his first touch of the ball, dotted down. Rusling made no mistake with the extras.
As half time then approached, London did test the Cornwall line but Mike Abbott’s men stood firm and the home side’s frustrations boiled over after the interval siren when prop Lamont Bryant was shown a yellow card for a hand in the face.
A clearly frustrated home coach Joe Mbu kept his players out of the sheds during the break and instead, sat them down on the terraces while Cornwall did leave the stadium bowl, knowing they were just 40 minutes away from another piece of history.
But whatever Mbu said to his charges had the desired effect as with just three minutes of the second stanza elapsed, Ball bagged his second of the afternoon. He picked up the ball on the bounce and managed to squeeze in out wide. Lyon couldn’t add the extras but it was very much game on.
Owing to London’s second try, the next four-pointer was always going to be pivotal but thankfully for Cornwall, it went to the men in yellow. The visitors hammered away at the Skolars line and David Weetman appeared to have been held up but somehow he managed to ground the ball. That was Weetman’s fourth try in just six games since joining the Choughs in May and Rusling converted.
Cornwall made a mess of the restart but then London replied in kind when Bryant, who had an afternoon to forget, fumbled the ball close to the line and possession was back in the visitors’ grasp.
Good ground was made and Rusling’s kick wasn't dealt with by Thomas but the ball went backwards. London throwing caution to the wind, were then bundled into touch and Cornwall had a scrum 20 metres out.
And they made London pay with another two points after Sam Wellings hit Liam Whitton off the ball and Rusling kicked an easy penalty.
Into the final 10 minutes and Bryant was sent to the bin again for another hand in the face. From the resulting penalty, Cornwall made the game safe when Nathan Newbound’s brilliant offload saw Luke Collins power his way over under the posts for a first try in Cornwall colours.
Rusling converted from bang in front to see Cornwall home and hosed but that wasn’t the end of the drama.
In the final 60 seconds, home centre Dan Bristow gave both Carter and Rusling an old-fashioned facial in consecutive tackles. Carter took exception to Bristow’s foul play and a huge melee broke out. The referee and his two merry flag wavers appeared to restore calm before Yates completely lost the plot and began pushing Lloyd.
His brain explosion cost him a yellow card along with Carter and Morgan Punchard although perhaps given the time on the clock, a talking to both captains would have been sufficient from Mr Lynn, who refereed the game wonderfully well.
The penalty went to London and the 12 men against Cornwall’s 11 grabbed a consolation when Derry caught Lyon’s kick to score. Derry took the conversion quickly and missed before the siren sounded sparking jubilant scenes both on the field and in the stands too as Cornwall had made history once again.
Match information
London Skolars: Thomas, Ball, Bristow, Yates, Kudangirana, Ryan, Lyon, Bryant, Derry, Lloyd-Jones, Wellings, Bejanidze, O’Callaghan. Interchange (all used): Porter, Ross, Peut, Bardsley.
Tries: Ball (25,43), Deery (80). Goals: Ryan 1/2
Sinbin: Deery (20) - delaying restart; Bryant (40,67) - hand in face; Yates (79) - running in
Cornwall: Whitton, Carter, Croston, Ashton, Mitchell, Punchard, Rusling, Boots, Collins, Newbound, Cullen, Weetman, Lloyd. Interchange (all used): I Badham, E Badham, Barraclough, Dmiech.
Tries: Cullen (5), Ashton (14), I Badham (34), Weetman (50), Collins (68). Goals: Rusling 5/6
Sinbin: Carter (79) - running in; Punchard (79) running in
Referee: Matthew Lynn
Attendance: 281
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💪 Maturity shown in Skolars win pleases Choughs chief Abbott
By Gareth Davies
Head coach Mike Abbott praised the ‘maturity’ shown by his Cornwall RLFC side after they defeated London Skolars 30-16 at the New River Stadium.
In securing their first away win of the season, Cornwall also recorded an historic league double for the first time in the club’s history.
First-half tries from Nathan Cullen, Tom Ashton and Ieuan Badham put Cornwall 16-6 up at the break with Leighton Ball replying for the visitors who had both Alex Deery and Lamont Bryant sent to the bin.
After the break, Ball scored again to set Cornish nerves jangling but David Weetman and Luke Collins both scored to lead Cornwall to a famous victory. Bryant spent another 10 minutes in the sinbin as London’s indiscipline came to the fore. It boiled over in the dying embers when Dan Bairstow gave both Adam Rusling and Errol Carter a facial. Carter took exception to Bairstow and a melee broke out which saw the Cornwall winger, Morgan Punchard and Jerome Yates sent to the bin.
“I said before the game that I thought it was one we should win with the quality we have in our group and I am glad the lads produced,” Abbott told cornwallrlfc.co.uk. “When the game started to get away from us we dug in and we fought momentum back.
“I knew we could get the win today and that’s not me being arrogant, it’s me identifying that with the players we have, we ought to get the job done.
“Skolars are a good side that are just perhaps lacking a bit of confidence and momentum currently but we never let them get on top. It’s even more pleasing to do it without someone like Cam Brown who was missing with a sickness bug. We also lost Tommy Ashton in the first half through injury and Tommy has been massive for us this year.
“Overall, we did things tough and hung in the game when we had to by showing a real maturity. Our back row shut things down out wide and Adam Rusling, for a young kid, guided us around the park.”
Abbott also reserved special praise for Cornwall’s raft of new signings as the Mem chief used the three week break his troops have endured to strengthen with both permanent and loan captures.
Both Nathan Newbound and Sean Croston made their Cornwall bows and excelled, while Morgan Punchard started in place of Cam Brown who missed the game through illness. Jaden Barraclough worked tirelessly in both attack and defence off the interchange bench along with Ewan Badham whilst Callum Abbott, the sixth and final new signing was named as 18th man.
“I thought our loan signings were great for us,” Abbott added. “Contrary to what some people may think and then write, we don’t just take any player on loan, they have to be right for the club. Our general manager John Beach has worked tirelessly to bring in the right type of loan players and also Morgan Punchard, who is with us until the end of the season, I thought he was brilliant.
“Nathan Newbound and Sean Croston came in and for their first games, they were unbelievable and very much made us better as a team.”
The win puts Cornwall two points and a superior points difference away from the Skolars who prop up the rest. It also means the Choughs have drawn level with Midlands Hurricanes and intriguingly, the two sides meet at the Mem this coming Sunday.
But Abbott was disappointed with social media comments pre-game and he fired a stinging broadside towards those keyboard critics that labelled the clash against Skolars as a battle for the wooden spoon.
“Some of the comments I saw in the week building up to the game were downright disrespectful,” he remarked. “There are 17 blokes on each team, both London and ourselves, that go and put their bodies on the line and get bashed about for 80 minutes.
“This is a tough sport and we aren’t where we are in the league because we want to be and we give everything we can every single week. The game was contested between two really good competitive teams and we’ve got the two competition points, along with a bit of history also.”
The first ever league double for Cornwall was witnessed by a vocal and partisan visiting support who comfortably outnumbered the home fans in a crowd of 281 in North London on Saturday.
Abbott revealed that fans signing his name pre-game was something he had never experienced whilst he urged supporters to recreate that intimidating atmosphere at the Mem this coming Sunday.
“We may have been away against London, but the noise from our supporters made it feel like a home game,” he enthused.
“If that noise can be replicated at home then it will push us on because we are a young side that needs confidence to perform.
“I have never heard the crowd chant my name before like they did at London and in some respects, it took my mind off the game a little bit. The fans were class and I think I have said this before, that when we play at Penryn the fans make it feel like a real intimidating rugby league ground.
“The lads love and respect the crowd and all of them have always been so good with the fans be it having their picture taken, signing autographs or just chatting to them about rugby league.”
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