Henley Hawks 28, Cornish All Blacks 5

A VERY poor start cost the Cornish All Blacks dear as they crashed to defeat at leafy Dry Leas.

They conceded three converted tries inside the opening 12 minutes to find themselves 21-0 down against a team lying two places above them in the table.

It was then a case of damage limitation, and it was not until two minutes from time that the All Blacks got their first points on the board with a consolation try by scrum half Lewis Webb.

With Clifton also going down to defeat at the weekend, the All Blacks did not lose their seventh position in the table, but they are now 14 points behind sixth-place Cornish rivals Redruth, with only seven matches remaining.

The All Blacks were without Ben Hilton, who did not get back in time from a school field trip, and Josh Lord, who has been banned by the Rugby Football Union for the rest of the season, but they were able to bring Damien Chambers into their second row.

However, they were left stunned by Henley's fantastic start to the contest.

The opening try came in the first minute, with Henley winger Xavier Andre picking up a ball that had shot out of a ruck and running 35 metres to score, with fly-half James Comben slotting the conversion.

Five minutes later, the Hawks were awarded a simple penalty in front of the post, but bravely decided to kick to the corner instead, and after a catch-and-drive line-out, and several rucks, flanker Ryan Newman was driven over, with Comben again adding the extras. Comben then grabbed a third touchdown in the 12th minute, which he converted himself, and it was almost game over before it had really begun.

Sin-bin

There was no let-off for the Cornishmen, and they continued having to defend for long periods, but the Hawks failed to cross the whitewash again before the interval and had to be content with their 21-0 advantage.

The All Blacks' cause was not helped by having all three of their starting front-row players sent to the sin-bin during the game, although there was only a minute left on the clock when loose-head prop Tim Mathias was yellow carded.

Henley again enjoyed the large majority of possession and territory in the second half, but once more they were denied by good defensive work by their visitors.

However, they finally got their fourth bonus-point try in the 68th minute, with fine play by the forwards setting up a score for flanker Matt Payne.

Comben maintained his 100 per cent conversion record and the scoreboard was looking a sorry sight for the All Blacks at 28-0. It was sweet revenge for the Hawks, who had unexpectedly lost 28-12 at Polson Bridge in October, at a time when the All Blacks were struggling to find a win and the Oxfordshire-based visitors were riding high in the table.

With only two minutes left on the clock, the All Blacks finally got a try, created by an initial break from centre Lewis Paterson, which led to a penalty which was kicked to the corner.

After a line-out and several scrums, Webb sneaked around the blindside to score a try, but the conversion was missed.

The All Blacks now have a blank weekend to regroup before returning to action on March 3 with a home game against Lydney.