Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Old Actonians - 14th February 2009

Kilburn 52 - Old Actonians 17

KILBURN kept up their hopes of escaping the drop as they ran in eight tries on Saturday to overwhelm Old Actonians 52-17.

The Cosmos dominated from the first whistle to the last and, after two early turnovers, swift reactions in the back line sent Peter Donaldson clear to open the scoring.

With an assured pack settling early into the scrums, Kilburn pressed home their advantage and quick hands across the park released Donaldson for his second try within 10 minutes.

But Actonians responded quickly, pushing upfield and winning a lineout five metres from the line, from which the Cosmos defence splintered and allowed the visitors in for an unconverted score.

The home side regained the initiative immediately as the ball was passed wide from a clean kick-off and Glenn Cunninghame marked his 50th 1st XV league appearance for the club with a try from 1 metre out, picking up the dregs from another Chris Hocking break.

Cunninghame was followed over the line by debutant and man of the match Hocking, then hooker Declan McGee, with Andy Allan adding his second and third conversions of the afternoon.

Actonians replied again just before the halftime break, outpacing the Cosmos defence after a midfield defensive lapse, for an unconverted try which made the score 31-10.

Kilburn were denied a serious run at the line for the first 20 minutes after the restart, but skipper Scott Aitken remained assured in the lineout restarts and forced numerous errors from the opposition.

The ever-present front row threat of McGee and Peter Fitzsimmons kept OAs at bay and the floodgates reopened in the final quarter of the game.

Allan, Magee - following a superb move on the blindside from scrum-half Liam McManus - and replacement wing Rohan McNaughtan all crossed the line, with Allan adding two more conversions to ensure Kilburn passed their half-century.

MVP went to debutant inside centre Chris Hocking, 2 points went to Peter Donaldson who scored 2 tries and set up 2 more and 1 point to scrum half Liam MacManus who provided excellent ball to the backline and chose his options wisely.

Kilburn 52 (P Donaldson 2, D Magee 2, G Cunninghame, C Hocking, R McNaughtan, A Allan tries, Allan 5 conversions, McNaughtan conversion)

Team: Phil Morgan, Declan Magee, Peter Fitzsimmons, Andy Butcher, Kurt Shrubsole, Aly Bursey, Scott Aitken, Shayne Whyte, Liam MacManus, Andy Allan, Karlos Gordon, Chris Hocking, Richey Cunninghame, Peter Donaldson, Dan Riley. Reserves: Jon Church, Larry Porter, Rohan McNaughtan

Photos of the game

Old As match report

Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Cheshunt - 31st Jan 2009

Kilburn 6 - Cheshunt 12

The Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV missed a big chance to take the scalp of league leaders Cheshunt on Saturday, going down 12-6. The Cosmos paid the price for a couple of defensive lapses and as has been the problem all season failed to capitalise on their scoring chances.
The first 20 minutes was all Cheshunt and they used a simple game plan of sending their big forwards running close to the ruck. As they sucked in the Cosmos loosies and inside backs holes appeared which the Cosmos forwards struggled to fill and Cheshunt made a number of breaks through this inside channel.
Some excellent defence from loosies Scott Aitken and Aly Bursey and especially fly half Shayne Whyte managed to halt a few of these raids but eventually Cheshunts big no8 stormed through a gap in the 22 and offloaded to support for the first try which made it 5-0.
The rest of the half was pretty even with neither team being able to gain any real advantage. The Cheshunt backs looked dangerous on occasions but they were shut down with good scrambling defence. Kilburn had their chances but their biggest problem was getting clean ball from scrums and rucks. Pressure from the Cheshunt halfback and loosies meant a tough day at the office for half Liam MacManus and his 2nd half replacement Chris Protherough and resulted in slow, disrupted ball for the Kilburn backline who were trying to get quick ball to big wingers Donaldson and Smales. The only points Kilburn managed to show for their efforts was a penalty from infront to inside centre Andy Allan after 30 minutes.
The halftime score looked like being 5-3 until a seemingly harmless Cheshunt back move was shifted to their left wing who beat his opposing winger, stepped through the cover defence and scored under the posts. This was converted and made the score 12-3 which it remained at the halftime whistle.
Despite this try Kilburn were pretty confident at halftime, they had managed to disrupt Cheshunts game and felt they were in with an excellent chance of an upset despite struggling in the lineout and in getting clean ball to the backs.
The 2nd half started pretty evenly but eventually Kilburn began to get on top. A penalty from Andy Allan after blatant offside play by the Cheshunt backs made the score 12-6. For the first 25 minutes it seemed that Kilburn were going to overpower their opponents but once again it wasn’t to be.
Two chances in the 2nd half were crucial to the Cosmos and both went begging. The first one saw a Kilburn kick fumbled by the Cheshunt fullback and regathered by the Cosmos. It was quickly shifted out the backs and a try looked imminent but a poor pass by Cunninghame to Smales on the wing was ruled forward and a golden chance went missing. The 2nd came after a great run from Donaldson down the wing took Kilburn to 10 metres from the line. A couple of quick passes out the backs would have seen a try in the corner but miscommunication saw the pass go to the wrong recipient which was then fumbled which slowed the play down and allowed Cheshunt to disrupt the move and clear the ball.
After these near misses things started to go wrong for Kilburn. Replacement scrumhalf Protherough was sinbinned after only a couple of minutes on the field leaving Kilburn a man short in the backs. Dynamic prop Hayden McKenzie also went off injured which was a big blow. Despite these setbacks Kilburn managed to keep Cheshunt at bay but at the same time couldn’t mount the same pressure they had early in the 2nd half and the fulltime whistle went with Kilburn once again within a converted try of taking a much needed victory.
There wasn’t much to complain about in Kilburns efforts – it was a very physical encounter in tough conditions and everybody fronted up. The forward pack struggled in the lineout and defensively early on but otherwise matched their top of the table opposites. The backline suffered from a lack of clean, quick ball and missed a couple of opportunities but otherwise looked pretty sharp.
MVP was judged to be flyhalf Shayne Whyte who put in a huge defensive effort and made some storming runs. Openside Aly Bursey was given the 2 points for another typically aggressive game in attack and defence and Paul Ledington got 1 point for another excellent effort.
Kilburn resume their fight for survival in the league with a vital home game against Old Actonians on the 14th of February

Kilburn 6 (Andy Allan 2 penalties)

Team: Hayden McKenzie, Declan Magee, Ben Zaug, Paul Ledington, Andy Butcher, Scott Aitken(C), Aly Bursey, Kurt Shrubsole, Liam MacManus, Shayne Whyte, Gav Smales, Andy Allan, Richey Cunninghame, Peter Donaldson, Dan Riley. Res: Rick Nunes, Chris Protherough, Karlos Gordon

Kilburn Cosmos 2nd XV vs Old Actonians 2nd XV - 31st Jan 2009

Kilburn Cosmos 17 - Old Actonians 52

Missed tackles cost Kilburn Cosmos 2XV dearly as their fight back stumbled against Old Actonians on Saturday.
Despite some good work by both forwards and backs, including some excellent phases and some great possession, failure to make their tackles count against a hard running home team meant Cosmos were never on top of the game.
Charles Winstone and new man Peter Fitzsimmons led the forwards with a superb display in both the set piece and loose parts of the game. Fitzsimmons particularly impressed with his defence skills and his refusal to back down in any situation. Despite this, the first half was a torrid affair for Kilburn, who found their defence in tatters after a strong start by the home side. The forwards matched Old Actonians and turned over opposition ball but the reaction to turnover was often too slow to make anything of it.
The halftime interval bought about a minor turn around for the visitors and the one way traffic stopped. Some well worked phase play and a better reaction to turnover ball unleashed the wingers and Anthony Koporo made some excellent runs, eventually earning a stunning try from 60 yards. 2nd half replacement flanker Ben Thorne made an impact, linking well with prop Fitzsimmons and skipper Simon Huxtable to keep possession of the ball. In the end though, it was not enough to turn over a large first half score.

Kilburn 17 (Seb Bisley, Anthony Koporo, Chris Hocking tries, Hocking con)

Team: Phil Morgan, Jon Church, Peter Fitzsimmons, Simon Huxtable, Gavin Smith, David Von Dadelszen, Ed Horn-Smith, Charles Winstone, JP Le Rouzic, Dan Boyle, Tim Ross, Chris Hocking, Sebastian Bisley, Anthony Koporo, Chris Coane. Res: Ben Thorne

Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Old Millhillians - 24th Jan 2008

Kilburn Cosmos 58 Old Millhillians 5
Kilburn regained form on Saturday to crush the hopes of fellow Herts Midd 1 strugglers Old Millhillians in a 58-5 rout.
The game was slow starting however and favourites Kilburn were frustrated by good OMs forward play until hooker Declan McGee smashed over the line 15 minutes into the game. He was followed 5 minutes later by skipper Scott Aitken. OMs answered immediately with a try of their own, and for the rest of the half, both sides toiled in terrible conditions on a rain affected pitch. Despite two scores to keep them ahead at half time, for much of the first 40 minutes Kilburn were faced down by a spirited OMs side, determined not to let up the pressure on the home side.
The pressure was on Kilburn until after half time, when OMs began to flag and Kilburn took control of the game. The Kilburn counter attack was led by man of the match, prop Hayden Mackenzie, who was devastating in both attack and defence. With Ben Zaug and Declan McGee, and later with replacement prop Ehi Alonge, Mackenzie overcame a good start by the OMs front row to dominate their pack in scrum and line out play as well as out-playing comprehensively in loose play and taking a try himself as the game swung to the home team.
The one way second half traffic also saw tries from Scott Aitken, Dan Riley, scrum-half replacement Chris Protherough and two for winger Gavin Smales. Kurt Shrubsole scored a brilliant forwards try from a 5 metre scrum, but try of the game went to winger Mo Taguri who took a long pass from Fly half Shayne Whyte and sprinted through the defence from 30 metres out to touch down. 4 of the tries were converted by fly-half Shayne Whyte.
The game saw excellent work from number 8 Shrubsole, front row replacement Alonge and number 10 Shayne Whyte. Hayden Mackenzie however, turned in a personal best game and was awarded MVP. Aly Bursey took the 2 points and Kurt Shrubsole 1.

Kilburn Cosmos 58 (Scott Aitken 2, Gav Smales 2, Declan Magee, Mo Taguri, Dan Riley, Chris Protherough, Kurt Shrubsole, Hayden McKenzie tries, Shayne Whyte 4 cons)

Team: Hayden McKenzie, Declan Magee, Ben Zaug, Paul Ledington, Tom O'Connor, Aly Bursey, Scott Aitken(C), Kurt Shrubsole, Liam MacManus, Shayne Whyte, Gav Smales, Richey Cunninghame, Chris Coane, Mo Taguri, Dan Riley. Res: Ehi Alonge, Chris Protherough, Karlos Gordon

Kilburn Cosmos 2nd XV vs Belsize Park 2nd XV - 24th Jan 2008

Belsize Park 2XV 0 - Kilburn Cosmos 2XV 8
Kilburn Cosmos 2xv gave their fightback in the Middlesex Merit Table a boost with an 8-0 win over local rivals Belsize Park.
The scrappy game was notable for excellent defence by the Kilburn backs and gritty performance by the forwards who took on Belsize up front and gave no ground in the loose play, even if they were outweighed in the scrums.
The 2xv back line, ably led by veteran centre duo Dan Loftus and Rohan McNaughton punched holes in a weak Belsize defence and peppered their full back with high kicks. Kilburn debutant Full Back Chris Hocking put in a brilliant display, running the ball back at Belsize and forcing some desperate cover tackles.
Dan Loftus eventually rounded off the first half with a try which saw several attempts at the Belsize line fail due to eagerness and over enthusiasm rather than lack of determination but the performance of the half belonged to Rick Nunes who rampaged around the pitch and forced the Belsize forwards backwards with every run.
The second half saw a more determined Belsize attempt to pull back a score to draw level but great defence by Kilburn kept them out. As the clocked ticked by the effort and desperation mounted and on more than occasion the match descended into handbags. A last minute drive by Belsize was undone by Kilburn, who applied pressure to the attacked and earned a penalty, which Chris Hocking slotted to make it 8-0 on the final whistle.
Great credit should go to Jon Church who led the Kilburn 2xv to a rare victory!

Kilburn 8(Dan Loftus try, Chris Hocking pen)

Team: Phil Morgan, Jon Church(C), Phil Brides, Andy Butcher, Rick Nunes, Dave von Dadelszen, Ed Horn-Smith, Charles Winstone, JP Le Rouzic, Dan Boyle, Gav Smith, Rohan McNaughtan, Dan Loftus, Sebastian Bisley, Chris Hocking. Res: Simon Huxtable, Ben Thorne, Niall Coghlan

Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Old Abbotstonians - 17th Jan 2008

Kilburn Cosmos 19 - Old Abbotstonians 20

The Kilburn Cosmos dug themselves further into relegation danger with a loss to fellow strugglers Old Abbotstonians on Saturday. The 20-19 loss leaves them with just 2 points and in 2nd last place on the table, 4 points behind Abbotstonians.
Hopes were high that this game would see a turn around in the seasons fortunes for the Cosmos. But despite a good build up and the importance of the game the team still lacked urgency from the kickoff, conceding a converted try after just 3 minutes when a high ball into the Cosmos 22 was allowed to bounce, toed through into the ingoal and pounced upon by an Abbotstonian player.
Abbotstonians went another try up after 15 minutes with a brilliant lineout move in the Cosmos 22.
This finally woke the Cosmos up and they piled on the pressure for the next 15 minutes. A massive size advantage in the midfield looked to be the key for the Cosmos but numerous breaks by centres Peter Donaldson and Richey Cunninghame were shut down by scrambling defence and some costly turnovers.
After 30 minutes the pressure finally told and the Cosmos managed to make use of an overlap in the backs to send wing Mo Taguri in for a try out wide which was converted by fly half Andy Allan.
The turnaround was shortlived with Abbotstonians kicking a penalty 5 minutes later. The resulting kickoff was poor from the Cosmos giving the Abbotstonians a chance to run from mid pitch. A bad missed tackle by Cunninghame allowed them to break through and score in the corner taking the score to 20-7 which it remained at halftime.
The Cosmos still felt they had a huge chance in the game, feeling they were easily the better team but knowing they had to focus on a basic game plan of dominating possession and territory.
This paid dividends when captain Aly Bursey stormed over after 10 minutes in the half. The conversion by Allan taking the score to 20-14.
The Cosmos joy was shortlived soon after as after using their 2 subs at half time Kilburn were reduced to 14 men when lock John Fenlon ,who had been having another storming game, went off injured.
Immediately after Kilburn looked to be in huge trouble when Abbotstonians excellent No8 made yet another break from halfway and looked to be certain to score and take the game away from the Cosmos but a brilliant chase and tackle from Donaldson saw him hold up the Abbotstonians player 1 metre from the tryline. Under huge pressure on their tryline things suddenly got a lot worse for the Cosmos in the very next play when captain Aly Bursey was sent to the sin bin for killing the ball, leaving Kilburn with 13 men and facing an Abbotstonians 5 metre scrum. Excellent defence saw the Cosmos stop the attack then turnover the ball and clear to the halfway in what should have been a game turning moment. Fenlon bravely came back on and eventually Kilburn were restored to their full complement and looked set to take the game.
Big wing Gav Smales, in his comeback, looked set to win the game when he intercepted the ball in his own half and raced down the sideline only to get hauled down with 15 metres to go and give away a penalty for holding on.
With less than 10 minutes to go more pressure from Kilburn saw Andy Allan crash over after a 5 metre scrum to make it 19-20 and give himself a shot winning the game but unfortunately his conversion narrowly missed.
The last few minutes saw the Cosmos attacking from all over the pitch but in their quest for the winning points players found themselves in the wrong positions and passes going to the wrong people and again the final whistle went with the Cosmos agonisingly close to pulling off a victory but not good enough.

Player of the day went to veteran No 8 Shayne Whyte, who was playing his 50th 1st XV league game, a massive effort by the club stalwart. Fellow veteran Richey Cunninghame and his centre partner Peter Donaldson received the other MVP points. Top performances were also turned in by Hayden McKenzie and Chris Protherough in the front row, Paul Ledington and Fenlon in the second row and as usual flanker Aly Bursey who was captain for the day. Tom O'Connor also made an impact as a sub in the second half and Gav Smales looked a likely attacking weapon when given the ball.

Unfortunately the best player on the pitch and the key to the result was the Abbotstonians no8 - brilliant running, punishing defence, turnovers, killing Kilburns ball - well played

Kilburn 19 (Mohammed Taguri, Aly Bursey, Andy Allan tries, Allan 2 cons, pen)

Team: Hayden McKenzie, Chris Protherough, Ben Zaug, John Fenlon, Paul Ledington, Shayne Whyte, Aly Bursey, Kurt Shrubsole, Liam MacManus, Andrew Allan, Karlos Gordon, Richey Cunninghame, Peter Donaldson, Mohammed Taguri, Chris Coane. Res: Tom O’Connor, Gavin Smales

Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Harlequins Amateurs - 6th Dec 2008

Kilburn Cosmos 10 - Harlequins Amateurs 15

Different opponent, same result for the Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV as once again they lost a close game that was theirs for the taking. This time they went down 15-10 to top 4 placed Harlequins Amateurs on the boggy ground of Tiverton Green on Saturday.
Kilburn were confident of a good performance but once again a poor start left them chasing the game. Within the first ten minutes good field position gained by Quins saw them attack the blindside in the Cosmos 22 and a miscommunication saw 2 defenders tackling the flyhalf who off loaded to the unmarked winger who cantered in for a very soft try and opened up an early 5-0 lead to Quins.
Kilburn replied strongly but could never really get a roll on. Promising moves quickly broke down with bad passes, dropped balls or turnovers from isolated players and lack of support.
A raid into Quins territory saw the Cosmos with an attacking lineout deep in the Quins 22. Unfortunately the lineout ball was tapped down by Tom O’Connor straight into a Quins loosies hands. A poor attempt at a ball and all tackle by centre Richey Cunninghame allowed Quins to quickly move the ball to their backs who had a 2 man overlap with Cunninghame and fly half And Allan out of the picture after having to tackle the Quins forwards. The Quins backs used this unexpected ball brilliantly to score in the corner 80 metres down the field despite howls of protests over the last pass being forward. This was converted to leave the score 12-0 to Quins.
Bouncing back another Cosmos foray into the Quins 22 resulted in a penalty which Allan duly knocked over to make it 12-3 and finally get the Cosmos points on the board.
Apart from the 2 early tries the Quins offered little in the backs that troubled Kilburn but they themselves could make little headway with messy ball coming to fly half Andy Allan which hampered the backline. The most significant player in the first half was the Quins flyhalf who kept turning the Cosmos around with an excellent kicking game. Using the low sun he gave the Cosmos back three a very testing time and constantly got Quins into Cosmos territory.
With the half time score 12-3 Cosmos definitely felt like they were still in the game and were confident they could come back for the win.
The second half was pretty even with Kilburn dominating with the ball in hand but Quins still able to relieve the pressure and gain territory with their excellent kicking game and they got an early penalty to extend their lead to 15-3.
Eventually the Cosmos had reward for their toil with concerted pressure on the Quins line resulting in fly half Andy Allan bursting through for the try which he converted himself to make the score 15-10.
Kilburn had another great chance soon after when a charge down saw Peter Donaldson scoop up the ball on the Quins 22 and offload to Cunninghame but good scrambling defence and a lack of pace quickly saw him chopped down, ever present flanker Aly Bursey toed the resulting ball through but it just went dead in goal before he could reach it.
The last 15 minutes saw Kilburn mounting frenzied attacks to score the winning points but they could not find the try they were looking for and another win went begging.
The forwards played well once again with an excellent scrum dominating the opposition but did not seem to quite have the urgency they had displayed in recent weeks. It was only towards the end of the game when they really started to threaten with their fast paced offloading game with Aly Bursey and Declan Magee at the forefront.
The backs looked dangerous at times but a lack of good ball coming to fly half Allan and some poor options and hands did not help. Dan Riley, while having a difficult day with the high ball, popped up with some excellent runs and wings Wilson, Coane and Taguri looked threatening with the limited ball they received.
Injuries affected the Cosmos second half with halfback Liam MacManus having to be replaced after suffering a torn hamstring, prop Ben Zaug injuring his shoulder, no 8 Kurt Shrubsole having to go to the bloodbin and Cunninghame spending the last 20 minutes halfblind but these were no excuse for not coming through for the win.
The man of the match and 3 MVP points was given to flanker Aly Bursey for a typically industrious game with big John Fenlon getting 2 MVP points and Scott Aitken in his return from a nose job 1.
The loss leaves Kilburn with only one win from 8 and second last on the table with one game to go before the half way point.

Kilburn 10 (Andy Allan try, con, pen) Harlequins 10

Team: Hayden McKenzie, Declan Magee, Ben Zaug, John Fenlon, Tom O’Connor, Aly Bursey, Scott Aitken(c), Kurt Shrubsole, Liam MacManus, Andy Allan, Hayden Wilson, Richey Cunninghame, Peter Donaldson, Chris Coane, Dan Riley. Res: Phil Morgan, Paul Ledington, Mo Taguri

Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Cheshunt - 29th Nov 2008

Kilburn 10 - Cheshunt 19

Kilburn Cosmos 1st XV vs Old Abbotstonians - 15th November 2008

Kilburn Cosmos 25 - Old Abbotstonians 30

Kilburn Cosmos were sunk by a last minute try in a close encounter with Old Abbotstonians on Saturday at Tiverton Green.

Despite dominating the set piece, stealing much of the oppositions’ ball, and generally getting off to a good start, Kilburn could not capitalise and failed to put points on the board early.

In a physical, end to end game, Kilburn’s opening play saw them push the visitors right back to their own line, only to lose the ball and quickly be driven back to their own 22 where an eagle-eyed Abbotstonian player took sharp chance at a drop goal and put the home side three points down.

Kilburn hit back straight away and levelled with a penalty kick from 30 metres, slotted by fly half Chris Garvey. With the upper hand in the set pieces thanks to hooker Declan McGee, props Scott Hughes and Phil Morgan and lock John Fenlon, Kilburn were establishing a dominant position in the game and were quickly up to 6-3 when the visitors conceded another penalty in range of Garvey’s boot.

Kilburn lost their edge though after notching up another 7 points when Garvey converted McGee’s brilliant solo try which came from a powerful burst through the middle of a ruck on the Abbots 22m line, giving him a clear run at their try line. Almost as soon as Kilburn sat back, the visitors fought their way up the field and took two soft tries and a penalty. Kilburn rallied, with a Hayden Wilson try from long range, again converted by Garvey.

With the narrowest of leads running up to the interval, Kilburn suffered the loss of Garvey and Fenlon in an unlucky head clash, both being hospitalised. The scores at half time were a precarious 20 points to 18.

Kilburn toiled in the start of the second half, their scrum weakened by the loss of Hughes and Fenlon. Replacement prop Ben Zaug and McGee put in a huge effort to shore up the scrum and eventually Cosmos were firing again after a decidedly shaky third quarter. Aly Bursey answered the visitors opening score of the second half with an uncoverted effort of his own, keeping the home side up 25-23.

For the last 20 minutes the game reached a rare level of intensity, with everything still to play for. The ball moved from end to end with everyone putting in everything they had. Kilburn came close to scoring again when prop Phil Morgan made a 30 metre break down field to set up a move well inside the opposition’s half who had to scramble back to stop a try. In the end though it was the visitors who found the extra energy to burst over with a last gasp try to sink Cosmos 25-30 in the dying seconds.

Kilburn 25 (D Magee, H Wilson, A Bursey tries, C Garvey 2 conversions, 1 penalty, S Whyte penalty) Old Abbotstonians 30

Team: P Morgan, D Magee(C), S Hughes, J Fenlon, A Butcher, J Trout, A Bursey, K Shrubsole, L MacManus, C Garvey, M Taguri, H Dawkins, H Wilson, C Coane, D Riley. Reserve: B Zaug, M King, S Whyte

Kilburn Cosmos 2nd XV vs Chiswick IIs - 8th Nov 2008

Kilburn 12 - Chiswick 38

Kilburn 12(J Horsfall, H Wilson tries, Horsfall con)

Team: C Smith, E Horn-Smith, B Zaug, L Porter, J Trout, D Magee, D Loftus, K Shrubsole, L MacManus, J Horsfall, T Ross, H Dawkins, G Bothomley, A Gbinigie, H Wilson. Reserves: R Cunninghame, A Nolan, A Koporo, N Coghlan