Kent16 Cornwall 22.

 

Another frustrating afternoon for Kent head coach Chris Wilkins, who had to wait until the 74th minute before his side managed to cross the opposition goal-line.

 

The try, scored by back-row Dale Bellinger and converted by fly-half Alex Gallagher, came at the climax of Kent’s best period of sustained pressure of the entire match and brought to life the final minutes of an untidy contest but, despite being reduced to 13-men, the Cornishmen kept the hosts pinned in their own territory for long enough following the re-start to see out time.

 

The final whistle sparked inevitable jubilation from the terracing where, judging from the amount of black and gold on display on this sunny afternoon at Rectory Field in Donald Biggs Drive, the Cornish support outnumbered their Kent counterparts, as well as from the players on the pitch, and in particular Matt Shepherd who’d contributed all 22 of his side’s points.

 

In a lively performance at scrum-half, allied to a 100% kicking record, the Launceston man opened up with a successful strike for three points on twelve minutes, after the visitors had weathered some early pressure from the hosts, before adding Cornwall's only try of the match, crossing from his own quickly taken tap-penalty shortly after.

 

Gallagher responded with three points for Kent on 22 minutes, but as the hosts saw two players dispatched to the sin-bin in the opening period, Shepherd added two further goals to his tally (while Gallagher saw two attempts fall just short at the other end) for a 16-3 lead at the interval.

 

Kent never wanted for possession and territory, and two further successful Gallagher strikes brought them back to within a converted score at the start of the second period but, despite a solid forward platform, their play lacked the accuracy and cutting edge of the opposition.

 

Cornwall's kicking game was superior too, soon having the west countrymen back in the ascendancy, and as they once again began to stretch the Kent defences in the opposition twenty-two, Shepherd's final two penalties restored the 13-point advantage.

 

Kent rallied late to force the two yellow cards and the pushover-try from line-out ball for Bellinger, but couldn’t break free of the Cornishmen’s grip in the final six minutes for further reply.

 

‘Cornwall’s kicking game was superior throughout and put a lot of pressure on our back three,’ said Wilkins afterwards.

 

‘We also let some promising positions slip away through indiscipline.’

 

‘It’s a big jump when you move up to the top level of this competition, as we found against the same opposition two years ago.  We’re making progress but we need that one win which will give us the confidence to push on.’

 

Kent travel to Cleve RFC next Saturday for their final match where a draw against Gloucestershire will be good enough to keep them in the Bill Beaumont Cup Division One for 2016.

 

Kick-off at The Hayfields in Cossham Street, Mangotsfield is 3.00 pm.

 

Kent.

 

Tries:   Bellinger.

Conv:  Gallagher.

Pens:    Gallagher 3.

 

Cornwall.

 

Tries:   Shepherd.

Conv:  Shepherd.

Pens:    Shepherd 5.