Cornish was brought into the pack, along with fellow first caps, Jack Rhapps and Dick Hellings to face England as part of the 1897 Home Nations Championship.
Wales won the game in style, but it would be the only international the team would play that year, as an argument broke out between the Home Unions surrounding professionalism, now known as the Gould Affair.
Despite a large influx of new caps, Cornish was now playing in a Wales squad dominated with his Cardiff team mates; including captain Selwyn Biggs at centre and a threequarters trio of Jones, Nicholls and Huzzey.
The Welsh were again victorious winning the opening match against Ireland 11–3, but Cornish found himself in a losing international for the first time when Wales lost to England in the final game of the Championship.
Cornish, brought in as a replacement for Tom Dobson, would play his last international in this match, with Wales losing to a single Gerald Doran try.