MATCH REPORT: CORNWALL 14 HURRICANES 60

The Hurricanes were accomplished in both attack and defence. Pic: Patrick Tod/Cornwall RLFC/SWpix.com

CORNWALL RLFC 14 MIDLANDS HURRICANES 60

Dave Musson, Memorial Ground, Sunday 10 April 2022

MIDLANDS HURRICANES head coach Rich Squires said the confidence gained from his side’s terrific first win of the season will serve them well in the coming weeks.

Pre-match, the story was all about Cornwall’s historic first home game, and there was certainly a buzz in the south-west, along with a bumper crowd of over a thousand intrigued spectators.

But the Hurricanes were more than happy to spoil the party with a thunderous performance, scoring eleven tries to emphatically secure their first victory of 2022.

Head coach Squires said: “We produced a really professional opening 40 minutes and showed what we can do when we stick to our certain structures.

“We completed high and were very clinical in the right areas. We played with a lot of confidence and that will bode well moving forward.

“Jack Dawson and Hayden Freeman both scored hat tricks and took chances. Dave Scott and Ben Stead really led us around the field allowing Liam Welham to make the game look easy.”

Pic: Patrick Tod/Cornwall RLFC/SWpix.com

The first half especially was spectacular for the Hurricanes. Seven tries - two apiece from Jack Dawson and Matty Welham, as well scores from Brad Clavering, David Foggin-Johnston and Sean Croston - plus five Ben Stead conversions gave the visitors a fully-deserved 40-0 lead at the break.

After the break, Dawson completed his hat-trick, while Hayden Freeman scored three tries of his own to add further gloss to an impressive trip south.

Cornwall did manage to give their new fans something to cheer, with tries from Harry Aaronson, Adam Jones, and Sam Snell, but by then the match was long out of reach.

Unsurprisingly, the hosts started brightly and dominated the first ten minutes of possession and territory. But they failed to get anything from it and the Hurricanes punished them on their first real attack of the game.

After some slick hands from Stead and Scott down the Hurricanes’ right edge, Dawson hit the line at speed to score.

Three minutes later, the visitors were in again, this time Clavering taking a delicate pass from Stead and exploiting a gap in the Cornwall line.

Those quick-fire scores seemed to fluster the hosts, who sent the restart straight out of play to gift the Hurricanes field position. By contrast, the visitors were buzzing and maximised that quick return of possession and position moments later.

Once more, the Cornwall left edge was targeted with some smooth handling. After Scott was held up short, they kept the ball alive on the final tackle and Bradford loanee Foggin-Johnston scooped the ball off the floor to mark his debut with a try.

Three minutes later, the Hurricanes scored once more through their right edge. Dawson crashed onto a Scott pass, before offloading to the supporting Matty Welham to keep the scoreboard ticking over at better than a point a minute.

It took the best part of ten minutes for the next try to come, but when it did it was the Hurricanes touching the ball down once more. On the final tackle, Stead hoisted a lofting kick into the Cornish skies, and Dawson caught it cleanly to score under the posts.

Three minutes later, the Midlanders struck again. This time, they attacked the Cornish right edge as Stead pushed them back with a low, drilled kick. Although it looked as though the hosts would be able to defend it, the awkward bounce of the ball landed straight into Croston’s arms for an easy score.

Easy was a fitting description of the next Hurricanes score, which came three minutes later. Coming right out of an attacking scrum, Matty Welham took a Scott pass, fended off a feeble tackle attempt and touched down his second to cap off a superb first half.

Any thoughts of a spectacular Cornwall fightback were obliterated two minutes into the second half as the Hurricanes scored again, with Freeman taking a quite delightful Scott pass to score in the corner.

In the 48th minute, Cornwall finally were able to bag their historic first try at home, as Aaronson jinked his way through the Hurricanes defence to score.

Three minutes later, Cornwall scored again - prop Paul Bolger crashed through the line and the supporting Wigan youngster Jones was on hand to score.

Just as the hosts were building a bit of confidence it was shattered again minutes later, when Dawson completed his hat-trick in the right corner, after great handling from the Welham brothers.

Credit to Cornwall, they picked themselves and hit back again five minutes later. Their backline showed some slick handling skills and Snell was the beneficiary, touching down in the corner.

But the Hurricanes seemed determined to have the final say and frantically kept the ball alive in the latter stages of the game, despite their insurmountable lead. It paid off with five minutes to go, Stead and Scott dodging and weaving, before finding Freeman in the corner.

Freeman still had time to complete his hat-trick with the final play of the game, but all the credit has to go to Scott who burst through the Cornish defence at speed, dragged the defender wide, then slipped his winger in to score.

The Hurricanes will now look to secure back-to-back wins this Sunday, 17 April, when they return to Portway to host London Skolars (3pm kick-off).

Hurricanes man of the match: Dave Scott

MATCHFACTS

Hurricanes: M Welham, Freeman, Croston, L Welham, Foggin-Johnston, Scott, Stead, Clavering, Windley, Ryan, Dawson, Bull, Bowman

Subs (all used): Blakey, Newbound, Green, Bedward-Gittens

Tries: Dawson (9, 27, 55), Clavering (12), Foggin-Johnston (16), M Welham (19, 33), Croston (30), Freeman (42, 74, 79)

Goals: Stead 8/11

Cornwall: Aaronson, Symons, Tora, Johns, Trerise, Jones, Purcell, Mullally, Kay, Ray, Hartshorne, Thomson, Prisk.

Subs (all used): Bolger, Brannan, Lloyd, Snell

Tries: Aaronson (48), Jones (52), Snell (60)

Goals: Johns 1/3

Penalty count: 5-8
Half-time: 0-40
Referee: James Jones
Attendance: 1,473

Scoring sequence: 0-6, 0-12, 0-18, 0-24, 0-30, 0-34, 0-40, 0-44, 4-44, 10-44, 10-50, 14-50, 14-54, 14-60