Old Priorians came from 27-14 down to beat London Cornish 28-27 in an absorbing contest at Perivale, a James Booth conversion sealing the win in the closing stages.

Though OPs saw more of the ball in the opening minutes, it was Cornish who took control of proceedings ; two George Kimmins penalties (14' & 19) put them 6-0 ahead, followed by a well worked try for Ed McCord on 25 minutes which Kimmins converted to move into a healthy 13-0 lead.

Conor Dolan was able to claim the ball on the restart for the Twisters, the following phases eventually resulting in Carlos Gomez-Rose crashing over the line for his 12th try of your campaign. Booth converted to make it 13-7, 28 minutes played.

With the home side appearing to have awakened from the slumber of the opening quarter, they once again advanced into opposition territory and a neat pop pass from scrum half Si March put Dolan in for a score under the posts with 36 minutes played, Booth's kick a formality, putting OPRFC ahead for the first time in the match.

The lead was short lived, messy play in the midfield allowing Cornish a long range shot at goal ; the impressive kick from Kimmins crept over the bar and 16-14 it was to Cornish in the 39th minute. They then found time to move to 19-14 before half time with another three point opportunity, deep into injury time.

OPs came out battling in the second half, but further indiscipline saw Kimmins add his fourth penalty of the afternoon (45') for 22-14 to Cornish. Some rushed play on a quick lineout from Priorians presented the away side with a chance to counter, a wonderfully flowing move that saw winger Robbie Mackay go over in the corner on 55 minutes. Kimmins couldn't convert, but at 27-14, Cornish would have been bullish concerning their prospects for victory.

This is when typical OPs intensity kicked in ; with penalties going against London Cornish, Booth's searching kicks to the corner set the platform for a successful rolling maul on the hour, Ollie Tugman the player coming up with the ball. Despite the difficult angle, Booth once again converted to come within a score (27-21) with around a quarter of the game left.

As momentum swing in favour of the Twisters, they continued to pin Cornish in, not allowing the ball to exit their own half and looking menacing in attack. The match winning moment came with about 5 minutes to go, Ben Ridley gathering the ball from a clumsy Cornish lineout 10 metres from their own line. Two phases on, Guy Djedje bundled it over, a tense kick to come. Booth - in fine kicking fettle - slotted the extras, and OPs saw the game out for a very hard earned win, 28-27 the final score.

London Cornish will feel hard done by as they looked the better team on balance, yet missed kicks, discipline and fitness proved to be the deciding factors.

OPs retain third spot in Regional 2 Thames and now equal their best ever points tally at Level 6 of 67, with three games remaining in the season.

OPRFC SCORERS

T : Gomez-Rose, Dolan, Tugman, Djedje

C : Booth 4