But Cobham were far from out of it, and after making good ground into the Basingstoke 22, a smart catch and drive at a lineout close to the Basingstoke line took play forward with skipper Doug Rodman emerging from a maul to power his way over the line for Cobham’s second try, Luke Flower converting (24-14). Basingstoke were now in control of the game, dominating both possession and territory, and their well organised attack was too strong for Cobham with the hosts running in two more tries in quick succession, one from a blatant knock-on, to build up a healthy 22-7 lead after only half an hour of play. The lead was quickly extended after Cobham were penalised at a ruck, and good support play at pace found the Cobham defence stretched to the limit, prop Ollie John being on hand to score Basingstoke’s second try (12-7). Cobham’s lead was short-lived, Basingstoke forcing a scrum near the Cobham line and scrum half Jamie Fish was able to dart in for a try after hard work by the Basingstoke pack (7-7). From the ensuing lineout, Cobham won clean ball and fly half Luke Flower expertly found a gap in the opposition defence to round his man and run in for a brilliant individual try, which he then converted (0-7). The game started brightly for Cobham, who showed good resolve in defending well against the initial Basingstoke attacks, and the visitors then seized the initiative with Rob Kennard’s probing box kick which took play deep into the Basingstoke 22. Cobham came close to containing Basingstoke’s well-oiled machine with a defiant defensive performance but the hosts clearly demonstrated why they are challenging for promotion and were just too good on the day. The second half was a one-sided affair, Basingstoke running in five more tries before Cobham showed exemplary defiance by providing the final score, a fine try by Matt Thomas, to make it 66-21 at the close. But Basingstoke quickly replied with four tries before Cobham got back into the game with their second try from skipper Doug Rodman, the first half ending 31-14 after another Basingstoke try. Cobham have performed well in the past in this fixture, where very narrow defeats have been experienced, and it looked as if another close encounter was on the cards when Luke Flower scored a try in the opening minutes of the game to give Cobham the lead.
The official website of Rugby World Cup 2015.RWC 2015 Press Conference at Cobham Rugby.
The official announcement that Cobham RFC will be a RWC Team Base.
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