Sat 2 Apr 2022
Saturday 19th Jan 2019 was the last time that the CABs hosted a Cornish league (& additional Cup semi-final game) game. A very long time coming, but was it worth it and it was exactly what would be expected from these two proud clubs.
Pre-match entertainment of mini-junior festival involving Launceston & Clifton and also the Launceston Brass Band whetted the appetite for the main event. The CABs went into the match on the back foot; a humbling defeat at Brixham, a scrum under pressure and a decimated front five - exactly what you don't want, as this has clearly been Camborne's strength for the past few years. All week the emphasis had been on mobility, keeping the ball in play for extended periods of play and not give the officials any chance of giving penalties at breakdown and also the backfoot. By doing that, it would deny Camborne the opportunity of playing the game at their preferred pace and utilising their dynamic driving maul.
Right from the outset the CABs set the pace; a switch kick-off to make their bulky pack run and put some pressure on the visitors. Some early sparring resulted in Camborne taking an early penalty lead. By now, the CABs were starting to gain confidence in dealing with the lineout maul, the ball was staying in field and in play for those crucial extended periods (aiming to sap the energy out of the opposition legs and benefit later in the game) and scrums were being kept to a minimum. This led to a 9-3 lead for the CABs with 32 minutes gone. An impressive break by Camborne resulted in a home scrum on the CABs line. A minute later and the Camborne pack shunted the CABs off their put in and score became 9-8. Despite this setback, the CABs' confidence was growing and play was continuing to be played at a good tempo. The half-time discussion was focused on maintaining discipline (just two penalties in the first half for breakdown infringement), simplifying movement at the lineout and keep that tempo up.
The start of the second continued where the first had finished and it was anyone's game when the crucial period came. A series of impressive drives and carries into the CABs 22, resulted in a number of lineout opportunities for Camborne and one in which they were convinced they had crossed the line, only for the independent touch judge to rule it was held up. A few minutes later and the CABs had gone up the field, fast ruck ball was stretching the Camborne defence and eventually Brandon Rowley powered over - all this with the CABs down to 14 men and the body language of both teams was now clear to see; CABs galvanised and Camborne broken. Conceding a score, or couple of scores, during an opposition power play has been the CABs Achilles heel all season and is something that the squad need to work on, if they wish to progress from their current mid-table position, in the future.
The remainder of the game was now a series of CABs attacking, especially down the Club & stand side, and fast rucks creating plenty of the ball for the playmakers to identify the best option. Two further scores from Shaun Crawford and a first score for Exeter Academy product Jack Statton stretched the lead to an eventual win of 28-8 much the appreciation of the Polson crowd and set up a Final on Sat 16th April v St Austell (17:00 at the Recreation ground, Redruth) and also narrow the gap to Exmouth in fifth spot.
