Horsham in remarkable comeback to complete the double over in form Cobham

LONDON 1 SOUTH
Saturday 11th January 2020
Horsham 33-26 Cobham
Report by Richard Ordidge

Horsham move into the top half of London 1 South on points difference, with their fourth successive win, after an epic 33-26 away victory to complete the double over Cobham, in a pulsating game of rugby. The Green and Whites came back from 26-12 down in an amazing comeback scoring three converted tries without reply.

It was Horsham’s most significant win of the season so far against a Cobham side in form who were on a seven-match unbeaten run stretching back to October which included the notable scalps of Belsize Park, Camberley and Westcombe Park and a draw against Medway which had seen them climb to fifth in the table.

The kicking at goal was to prove a major difference between the sides with the Cobham kicker missing all four of his conversion attempts whereas Harrison Sims converted four of the five tries Horsham scored.

Horsham started slowly and found themselves on the wrong side of the referee conceding penalties at the scrum and at the breakdown after 7 minutes were 6-0 down after two successful Cobham kicks at goal.

Cobham were playing with more fluency and it was against the run of play when Declan Nwachukwu, on the counter attack from a dropped ball, made a powerful break up the left wing shrugging off several defenders in his path and as he was tackled offloaded to the supporting Josh Steggles to cross the line and score. Cobham responded with a good try from a driving line out which they spun wide with great handling to restore an 11-5 lead.

Good controlled rugby in the Cobham half and patience in the red zone saw Jonny Goward score from a pick and go after a succession of drives which was converted for Horsham to take an unlikely 12-11 lead.

A series of errors from Horsham saw Cobham score three tries in quick succession. Missed tackles saw a line break for a score out wide, then flapping at the kick-off led to a break to score, then at the start of the second half an exit kick was charged down and a soft try conceded, for Horsham to find themselves 26-12 down and seemingly out of the game.

The fight back then started. Vince Everitt was the first to pounce on a loose ball to score from a messy line-out. With pressure building Everitt scored his second after several phase of attack, and with both tries converted by Sims after 56 minutes had levelled the scores at 26-26 to set up a grand finale.

With both sides going hard for the winning try it was Horsham who found the quality to breach the home defence following a line out with a well worked backs move and a delayed pass from Johnny Ordidge to send through Marcus Condon to score and seal a remarkable win.

Horsham head coach Nick Stocker said: “A pleasing result against the form team in the league who have taken points off the top three at home over recent weeks. We were a long way from our best but with disruptions ahead of kick off due to injuries sustained in the warm up and early reshuffling in the pack, this was understandable. The guys also got frustrated early doors with some scrum interpretations and forced play needlessly granting field position to a dangerous Cobham side. This lead directly to two charge down tries and a cheap try from a poorly fielded kick all of which could have been avoided.

Having fallen 26-12 behind I was very pleased with the spirit shown to fight their way back into the game and with Harrison Sims kicking well the extra points secured after each try allowed us to keep in touch and overall the lead. Marcus Condon’s try, 8 minutes from time energised there team for the final defensive stand and a pleasing five points on the road.

Vince Everitt was once again a real handful, well supported by Jamie Redmayne, Jordan Smith and Will Grief whereas Sam Johnson had a strong game in both half back positions following injuries. Johnny Ordidge carried hard all afternoon as did Ciaran Preston. Harrison Sims, had a strong game both kicking from hand and from the tee and made telling breaks throughout. Man of the Match however went to Dan Cass for his physical defence, a couple of turnovers and big carries throughout. All whilst dominating his opponent on both sides of the scrum for the full 80 minutes.

Next week we have a big home game against promotion hopefuls Medway. We tailed off at the end in the reverse fixture and it’s a great opportunity to gauge our progress since then.”

Horsham Lions also won 41-28 away at Cobham Seconds to remain top of the Surrey Premiership.