Match Report from James Cole : Cobham 50 – 5 Chobham
Chobham under 15’s title hopes have been dealt a blow after being thrashed 50-5 away to Cobham on Sunday.
The result sees Chobham’s lead in Surrey 2 cut to three points, with sides below them boasting games in hand. The ‘h’ may be the only difference between these teams on paper but on Sunday afternoon the sides’ performances couldn’t have looked more different.
It was one-way traffic from the off at Fairmile Lane as the hosts scored three tries in the opening 5 minutes to build a 17-5 lead. Chobham’s consolation score from fullback Ryan Lees was a rare highlight on an otherwise forgettable afternoon for the visitors.
Open-side Sam Mitchell superbly won a breakdown penalty, which was taken quickly by George Jones. Sam Riley carried hard through the middle before offloading to fly-half Alfie Johnson. Johnson spotted space behind and chipped to the corner. Ryan Lees won the footrace, hacked-on and then acrobatically touched down, just before the dead ball line.
Celebrations though were short-lived. Chobham, who looked like they were still on their Christmas holidays, repeatedly surrendered possession and fell-off tackles. The result was a wave of Cobham attacks and tries, with the opposition scrum-half proving a constant threat.
Cobham were clinical and powerful in equal measure. To add injury to insult, Chobham (who started the game with only 14 men) then lost halfbacks Jones and Johnson, as-well-as Jamie Baker to hard knocks. By half-time, what was already an uphill task, had now reached Everest proportions. The heavy defeat was inevitable.
Chobham must bounce back quickly and strongly from this if they’re to stay in the title race. They were convincingly outplayed by their Surrey neighbours but you don’t become a bad team on one performance. Nonetheless the big question now is: will this game prove a blip or a turning point in Chobham’s season?
Match Report: James Cole