By Graham Cox
Kent’s three-year hold on the Bill Beaumont County Championship Division 1 title is over after a 56-19 defeat to Cornwall in the second leg of their semi-final.
It was always unlikely Kent would overturn the 59-point deficit conceded in the Duchy a week earlier, but Cornwall arrived at Charlton Park on another hot spring afternoon determined not to leave anything to chance in their quest for a first final appearance for four years.
With a side built primarily around National League 2 West champions Camborne, they simply continued where they had left off at The Recreation Ground deep down in the south-west peninsula, adding a further eight tries to the 11 amassed on home soil.
The first came with just five minutes played, as a penalty to touch saw ball moved into midfield where some intricate handling allowed fly-half Dean Wills to slip across for a converted try.
Kent responded by creating space to send Jacob Ivell down the left flank, the Sevenoaks wing breaking a tackle to score, but a neat dummy from Cornish inside-centre Josh Matevesi had Ivell’s opposite number Alex Ducker flying down his wing, and although the hosts strung phases together, they struggled to make inroads.
In contrast, Cornwall dominated the breakdown, always making ground, and with No.8 Herbie Stupple crossing from a tap-and-go, and Wills cutting inside off a ruck to cross, the visitors moved to a 28-5 lead at the break.
Hooker Ben Priddey went over in the corner for a fifth try for the visitors, quickly cancelled out as Tom Williams intercepted during another Cornish attack, the scrum half sprinting 80 metres to score.
However, made up from no less than 10 clubs spread across the county and a couple beyond, the hosts lacked the accuracy and fluency of the visitors, and soon Stupple barged over for his second try, soon followed by another for Priddey scoring off lineout ball.
Nevertheless, a moment of enterprise and sharp thinking, saw Harvey Young gather a quickly-taken penalty chipped out of defence, the Bromley fly-half finding Williams on hand to claim a brace for the Canterbury player.
The last word, though, would fall to the Cornishmen, as Stupple completed a hat-trick off scrum ball, Kyle Moyle adding an eighth conversion in a faultless place-kicking display from the full-back.
Cornwall will now meet Lancashire at Twickenham this weekend.
Kent: Hawkins (Bromley), Sipawa (Medway), Begbie (Sevenoaks), Harrison (Westcombe Park), Ivell (Sevenoaks), Young (Bromley), Williams (Canterbury), Watson (Sidcup), Jackson (Gordon Highlanders), Gibbons (Blackheath), Cole (Medway), Sanusi (Blackheath), Lienafa (Old Alleynians), Wagstaff (Westcombe Park), Elliot (Bromley). Replacements: MacMillan (Canterbury), Muhlemann (Westcombe Park), Wheeler (Blackheath), Clarke (Dartfordians), Large (Sidcup), Griffiths (Bromley), Kiernan (Medway), Ford (Medway).
