28th. January 2017 – The 1st. XV made it four from four in 2017 with a glorious second half performance coming from two points down to win at the death when Tom Lane kicked a penalty from the halfway line to send the sizeable crowd wild.
The game had started at a brisk pace and Camborne took the lead through a penalty from Brownfield. Despite their recent poor run the Cornish side always looked capable of victory and loose Salisbury play lewd to a period of pressure the City side did well to rebuff. The forwards were turning in another huge shift and, marching the opposition back at a scrimmage won a penalty which drifted agonizingly wide. Continued pressure saw the visitors infringe again and this time Tom Lane made no mistake in leveling the scores.
Salisbury had seemed a little off the pace at times and some sloppy defence led Camborne to threaten twice down the left and, on the second occasion, Semmons cantered in unopposed for a try. This seemed to rally the Green and Whites and another spell of pressure saw Lane pull back 3 points for a 6-8 half time score.
Coach Loader shuffled his side and Salisbury looked to have more purpose in their game but mistakes led to Brownfield extending the Cornish lead with two more penalties to 6-14. Again Loader made changes and now Camborne’s defence began to creak as the home side threw themselves into attack with Olllie Bowden outstanding and the front five gaining total control in the tight and the loose. From a series of rucks the forward rumbled on and then a lightning break from Dave Tonge saw him shrug off his tackler to scamper under the posts, Lane adding the conversion to reduce the deficit to two points but the clock was ticking.
Camborne infringed on halfway, Lane stepped up to take the kick and indicated that he would go for goal and a deathly hush descended over Castle Road. Lane’s strike was perfect and Salisbury were left to close the game out for another win and a further step toward safety.
Skipper Josh Green said “In the last few weeks we have found ways to win these tight matches. We showed incredible spirit coming from behind to win, all credit to Tom Lane for holding his nerve and kicking that penalty. We have to take this spirit into our must win game at Lydney in a fortnight’s time.”

Report – Neil Tonge
Photos – John Palmer