ENGLAND Rugby has been going through some trauma recently. Forget the recent past - this was a tremendous weekend for English and West Country rugby. All the English clubs in the Heineken Cup won, Exeter Chiefs and the Pirates won in National League One and in National League Two all three Cornish Clubs won their games, writes Tony Randel. Launceston contributed to this West Country haul of victories but if there was ever a game of two halves this was it.

The Cornish All Blacks ran Combe absolutely ragged in the first half with precious little response. Cornish All Blacks ran in seven tries at more than a point a minute. The four try bonus point was in the bank in the 16th minute.

Words were obviously said in the Combe changing room at half time; they came out for the second half a completely different team. Combe had most of the game in the second half as the hosts failed to kick the scoreboard into action.

The first half must go down as one of the best displays of running rugby ever seen at Polson. The backs and the back-row linked well, Steve Perry and Jon Fabian's tactical kicking was immense whilst Combe had no answer to the clever running and neat handling of all the backs whilst the pack were completely dominant in the set-pieces.

That said it was the visitors who showed first when their winger Kirk King showed how dangerous he could be as he streaked down the left wing luckily without any support to be brought down only yards short of the line.

Having got over that shock Cornish All Blacks stole a Combe line-out after a well placed Steve Perry kick to the corner and Glen Remnant (the Valcent Products Man of the Match) broke clean through the line to score. Next up after a scrum on the visitors' 22 Gary Kingdom split the defence before being brought down as he passed to the ever present Remnant to notch up his second try in five minutes. This time Adam Staniforth added the extras.

Three minutes later it was Marc Dibble's turn to score after Josh Lord and Keith Brooking had made the break down the centre before Steve Perry sent a long pass straight into the winger's hands.

Then came the bonus point! Jon Fabian kicked ahead, gathered the ball and spun it wide to Gary Kingdom to break down the centre before passing to Dibble who had Ryan Westren outside him to score.

The scores kept coming, next was Marc Dibble's second try after a beautiful Lewis Webb break from the base of a set scrum made it look easy! Next score was by Josh Lord after Glen Remnant broke from a maul to find Adam Staniforth with Lord on his shoulder. As the conversion sailed between the uprights it brought the score to 38-0 in 31 minutes!

Then up popped Kirk King again. After two runs that were stopped by the Launceston defence he took advantage of a handling error on halfway and streaked away for a brilliant solo try.

Just into first half stoppage time Sam Hocking added to the Cornish All Blacks tally when he took a quick free kick and burst through the shocked Combe defence to touch down between the posts. The Staniforth conversion made the half time score 45-5.

We will never know what was said in the Combe changing room but whatever it was it worked! Whereas they had trouped off at half time with their heads down the fifteen men who reappeared were keen and really up for it. They forced Launceston into errors, four penalties in the first seven minutes. And the team that had looked so good and confident for 40 minutes were suddenly being made to look ordinary.

Combe really turned up the pressure and spent a full eight minutes in the Launceston 22 but without reward. Reward for their hard work came in 63rd minute with an opportunist try when that man Kirk again gathered a loose ball in their own 22 and shot off down the field, this time he had Lee Campion with him who had time to cross the line and run round almost between the posts. Philip Chesters added the extras.

Launceston were definitely unsettled by this stage and never really looked threatening. The usual flood of replacements meant some people were playing out of position, and it showed.

Combe added to their tally in 77th minute when they took a quick penalty about 15m from the Launceston line and lock John Chance drove over. Chesters' conversion brought the score to 45-19 to give it an air of respectability.

Cornish All Blacks: Jon Fabian, Marc Dibble, Ryan Westren, Adam Staniforth, Gary Kingdon (Tony Roques 61), Steve Perry (Jon Marlin 54), Lewis Webb, Jason Bolt (Gareth Tedstone 54), Keith Brooking (capt) (Glenn Cooper 54), Hamish Mitchell, Tim Collier (Mike Myerscough 34-39, 65), Bryn Jernkins, Sam Hocking, Josh Lord and Glen Remnant.

Westcombe Park; Philip Chesters, Kirk King, Richard Lanksheare, Graham Purdy, Lee Campion, Tyron Child, Luke Baldwin (David Lane 70), Jordan Mitchell (Ben McKinnell 36), Jonathan Moyce (capt), Stephen Croall, John Chance (Joe Bonner 36), Will Thorpe, Gareth Inchers, Doug Abbott (Niki Davies), and Tom Hayman (Christian James 40)

Scorers:

Cornish All Blacks: tries, Remnant (2), Dibble (2), Westren, Lord, Hocking; cons, Staniforth (5).

Westcombe Park: tries, King, Campion, Chance; con, Chesters (2).

Referee; Mr Richard Phillips (RFU).