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CORNWALL 25 HERTFORDSHIRE 18
Alan Nettle24 May 2015 - 08:50
Cornwall make it to Twickenham for the 3rd year in a row....Report by Nigel Walrond
CORNWALL produced a superb second-half fightback to reach the County Championship final at Twickenham for the third successive year.
They will once again face Lancashire, who beat Yorkshire to top the northern group, and have defeated the Duchy on their last two visits to London.
Cornwall were facing an uphill struggle when they trailed 18-6 at the break, but 19 unanswered points secured victory for Graham Dawe's men in front of a huge crowd at Redruth's Recreation Ground.
Hertfordshire, playing down the slope in the first half, made a lively start, and the Duchy were indebted to a try-saving tackle by diminutive full back Billy Searle on visiting scrum half Tom Whiteley 10 metres out for keeping their line intact.
On a rare venture into the Hertfordshire half, Matt Shepherd kicked a 40-metre penalty, awarded for going in at the side of a driving maul, to give Cornwall a 3-0 lead.
Despite that setback, Hertfordshire continued to pile on the pressure, but great Cornwall defence kept them out.
They eventually breached the home rearguard, but it came from an error by the Duchy. Searle had his kick charged down on halfway, Hertfordshire skipper Brett McNamee picked up the loose ball and launched an attack, and after an incisive break by Sam Winter, fellow centre Dan Watt reached for the line for a try, which he also converted, for a 7-3 advantage.
Cornwall could have hit back immediately, but a scrum penalty 30 metres out was sent wide of the target by Shepherd.
However, he made amends from almost a similar range two minutes later, to get the Duchy to within a point of their rivals.
Hertfordshire swiftly responded with a Watt penalty for not releasing the tackled player, and they struck a further blow almost straight from the restart, with a great burst by full back Henry Robinson setting up a good attacking position inside the Duchy 22, from where the ball was worked well to the left for loose-head prop Ralph Adams-Hale to score a try, but Watt inexplicably missed the simple conversion.
He was back on kicking form, though, with the last action of the half deep into injury time, slotting a 45-metre penalty to give Hertfordshire a well-deserved 18-6 interval lead.
Cornwall made just the start to the second half they needed, with a try after only four minutes.
Hertfordshire won their own line-out on halfway but the ball went loose, Shepherd gathered and almost got clear, before feeding skipper Kyle Marriott to just about get over the whitewash, with the referee consulting with touch judge Fred Spong before awarding the score.
Shepherd missed the touchline conversion, but the Black and Golds were now only one score behind, and they ate further into the visitors' lead six minutes later with a 45-metre penalty by Shepherd after Hertfordshire were pulled up for crossing in midfield.
Shepherd squandered another penalty chance from 38 metres just before the hour mark, but he was on target soon after, following a fantastic scrum by Cornwall, to make it a one-point ball game.
The Duchy received another boost from the restart when Hertfordshire winger Michael Allan was sin-binned for taking Cornwall lock Ben Hilton out in the air, and it took them only two minutes to capitalise on their one-man advantage, with winger Robin Wedlake scoring a sparkling try in Piggy Lane corner to put Cornwall in front for the first time since the 24th minute.
Another Shepherd penalty gave the Duchy some breathing space, but Hertfordshire knew that a converted try would give them the draw they needed to finish top of the group.
Cornwall hung on though, and Trelawny's Army will be marching on English rugby headquarters once more.
Cornwall (Cornish All Blacks unless stated): Searle, Dawe, Murphy, Webber (Redruth), Wedlake (Redruth), Webb (Taunton), Shepherd; Freestone (Clifton), Salter, Williams (Redruth), Whittle (Camborne), Hilton, Fuca (Redruth), Jones (Penryn), Marriott (Redruth, capt). Replacements: Judge, Cook (Redruth), Phillips (Redruth), J Goldsworthy (Redruth), Mankee (Camborne), Parsons (Redruth), BJ Chapman.
Hertfordshire (Old Albanian unless stated): Robinson (Darlington Mowden Park), Elliott (Hertford), Winter (Bishop's Stortford), Watt, Allan, Reeder (unattached), Whiteley (Bishop's Stortford), Adams-Hale, McNamee (capt), Berry, Bickle, Hamilton, Ball (Bishop's Stortford), Cooper-Millar, McCraith (Bishop's Stortford). Replacements: Walliker (Hartpury College), Roberts (Loughborough Students), Conquest (Darlington MP), MacDougall (Hertford), Sargent (Hertford), Coleman (Bishop's Stortford), Hankin (Bishop's Stortford).
Referee: Veryan Boscawen.
Cornwall: Tries: Marriott, Wedlake; Pens: Shepherd (5).
Herts: Tries: Watt, Adams-Hale; Con: Watt; Pens: Watt (2).
Yellow cards: Hertfordshire: Allan 65.
Attendance 2500
They will once again face Lancashire, who beat Yorkshire to top the northern group, and have defeated the Duchy on their last two visits to London.
Cornwall were facing an uphill struggle when they trailed 18-6 at the break, but 19 unanswered points secured victory for Graham Dawe's men in front of a huge crowd at Redruth's Recreation Ground.
Hertfordshire, playing down the slope in the first half, made a lively start, and the Duchy were indebted to a try-saving tackle by diminutive full back Billy Searle on visiting scrum half Tom Whiteley 10 metres out for keeping their line intact.
On a rare venture into the Hertfordshire half, Matt Shepherd kicked a 40-metre penalty, awarded for going in at the side of a driving maul, to give Cornwall a 3-0 lead.
Despite that setback, Hertfordshire continued to pile on the pressure, but great Cornwall defence kept them out.
They eventually breached the home rearguard, but it came from an error by the Duchy. Searle had his kick charged down on halfway, Hertfordshire skipper Brett McNamee picked up the loose ball and launched an attack, and after an incisive break by Sam Winter, fellow centre Dan Watt reached for the line for a try, which he also converted, for a 7-3 advantage.
Cornwall could have hit back immediately, but a scrum penalty 30 metres out was sent wide of the target by Shepherd.
However, he made amends from almost a similar range two minutes later, to get the Duchy to within a point of their rivals.
Hertfordshire swiftly responded with a Watt penalty for not releasing the tackled player, and they struck a further blow almost straight from the restart, with a great burst by full back Henry Robinson setting up a good attacking position inside the Duchy 22, from where the ball was worked well to the left for loose-head prop Ralph Adams-Hale to score a try, but Watt inexplicably missed the simple conversion.
He was back on kicking form, though, with the last action of the half deep into injury time, slotting a 45-metre penalty to give Hertfordshire a well-deserved 18-6 interval lead.
Cornwall made just the start to the second half they needed, with a try after only four minutes.
Hertfordshire won their own line-out on halfway but the ball went loose, Shepherd gathered and almost got clear, before feeding skipper Kyle Marriott to just about get over the whitewash, with the referee consulting with touch judge Fred Spong before awarding the score.
Shepherd missed the touchline conversion, but the Black and Golds were now only one score behind, and they ate further into the visitors' lead six minutes later with a 45-metre penalty by Shepherd after Hertfordshire were pulled up for crossing in midfield.
Shepherd squandered another penalty chance from 38 metres just before the hour mark, but he was on target soon after, following a fantastic scrum by Cornwall, to make it a one-point ball game.
The Duchy received another boost from the restart when Hertfordshire winger Michael Allan was sin-binned for taking Cornwall lock Ben Hilton out in the air, and it took them only two minutes to capitalise on their one-man advantage, with winger Robin Wedlake scoring a sparkling try in Piggy Lane corner to put Cornwall in front for the first time since the 24th minute.
Another Shepherd penalty gave the Duchy some breathing space, but Hertfordshire knew that a converted try would give them the draw they needed to finish top of the group.
Cornwall hung on though, and Trelawny's Army will be marching on English rugby headquarters once more.
Cornwall (Cornish All Blacks unless stated): Searle, Dawe, Murphy, Webber (Redruth), Wedlake (Redruth), Webb (Taunton), Shepherd; Freestone (Clifton), Salter, Williams (Redruth), Whittle (Camborne), Hilton, Fuca (Redruth), Jones (Penryn), Marriott (Redruth, capt). Replacements: Judge, Cook (Redruth), Phillips (Redruth), J Goldsworthy (Redruth), Mankee (Camborne), Parsons (Redruth), BJ Chapman.
Hertfordshire (Old Albanian unless stated): Robinson (Darlington Mowden Park), Elliott (Hertford), Winter (Bishop's Stortford), Watt, Allan, Reeder (unattached), Whiteley (Bishop's Stortford), Adams-Hale, McNamee (capt), Berry, Bickle, Hamilton, Ball (Bishop's Stortford), Cooper-Millar, McCraith (Bishop's Stortford). Replacements: Walliker (Hartpury College), Roberts (Loughborough Students), Conquest (Darlington MP), MacDougall (Hertford), Sargent (Hertford), Coleman (Bishop's Stortford), Hankin (Bishop's Stortford).
Referee: Veryan Boscawen.
Cornwall: Tries: Marriott, Wedlake; Pens: Shepherd (5).
Herts: Tries: Watt, Adams-Hale; Con: Watt; Pens: Watt (2).
Yellow cards: Hertfordshire: Allan 65.
Attendance 2500
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