Farnham began their season two weeks earlier than expected with a long away trip to Hastings & Bexhill in the Vase cup on Saturday.

After a lengthy journey Farnham could be forgiven for their sluggish start, in which Hastings, playing with the wind at their backs on a wide pitch, gained early territory. However, despite being under the cosh at this stage Farnham defended very strongly to frustrate Hastings. In particular new centre pairing CJ Cooper, and 1st XV debutant Gareth Herrington deserve special mention for their defensive qualities during this phase of the game. 

Gradually Farnham fought their way into the game, and were awarded a kickable penalty well inside the opposition’s half. Unfortunately a decision was made to tap and go, with Farnham coughing up possession and allowing Hastings to break for a converted try. Undetered Farnham came back strongly again, and with the lineout going well and the makeshift pack more than holding their own at scrum time, they went close to scoring on several occasions. Eventually the pressure told just before half time, when quick ball saw replacement fullback Henry Marklew fix his man to free Sven Kolczak to score wide on the right. Despite missing the conversion Farnham turned around at half time only trailing 5-7, and with the wind at their backs. 

The half time message was simple: use the wind to play territory and then capitalise on this position. Indeed Farnham began the half well, and much of the game was played in the Hastings half of the pitch, but unfortunately at this point the lineout began to misfire, surrendering several promising opportunities. With several freekicks also going against Farnham for feeding in the scrum, Farnham’s play became increasingly frantic, allowing Hastings to come back into the game. 

When Farnham had to concede a 5m scrum near their own line, poor decision making at the base allowed a Hastings player to disrupt the ball, and when he was subsequently impeded the referee had no option but to award the penalty try under the posts. Once more Farnham responded, and Marklew again made massive inroads into the Hastings 22, narrowly failing to link with his support. There then followed a series of kicks to the corner from Farnham, but each time a score looked on they coughed up the ball and had to go back and start again. Finally another self inflicted error with a poorly placed kick allowed Hastings to break for a final unconverted try.

Disappointed at losing 5-19, and out at the first round of the cup, Farnham can take a number of positives from the performance, most noticeably with their defensive resilience, and also with some of their handling to put players in space. However, the team must reduce it’s number of unforced errors, and learn to adapt tactically when things start to go wrong.

Next Saturday Farnham have a friendly fixture at Esher, followed by a big local derby against Camberley at home on Saturday 15^th September. All players will be working hard in training over the next two weeks, with guest coaches Jamie Salmon (ex-international) and John Kingston (Harlequins) taking specialist backline and forward sessions respectively. 

New players are always welcome, and should check out the club’s website: www.farnhamrugby.org.