Farnham Rugby Club
Annual Sevens Tournament 2009
The standard of play at the Farnham Sevens keeps getting stronger and stronger, and this year was no exception as 28 teams contested the main and social competitions. The gods were smiling on all who took part, as the early morning rain helped just to soften up the pitch a little, before bright sunshine ensured that both the players and spectators could enjoy the spectacle in front of them.
In the Main competition, Chiswick reached the final by defeating the Stallions in their semi-final, whilst in the other half of the draw SEME, Bordon overcame the challenge of the Magnificent 7. The final promised to be a close run affair between two very good sevens sides, but SEME started strongly, and before Chiswick had woken up the game was as good as over. Chiswick did battle back to score, but SEME deserved their title.
In the Plate competition last year’s winners the Riders overcame Holbrook from Sussex to set up a final against Cobham, who had overcome local team Farnborough. After a slow start to the competition Cobham had played progressively good rugby, and they were too strong for their opponents to secure the much cherished toilet seat trophy.
The social competition was played for by 12 teams, with Trefforest Titans defeating Sussex All Stars to win the Vase, whilst Southampton University Old Boys beat the Stags to win the Bowl competition.
Throughout the day a number of volunteers ran the table, bar, and barbecue, and “Fit” Mick Dawson deserves particular praise for providing medical support to the needy. The club was well served by a number of its own members who refereed a significant number of the matches, and again teenage club member Ashley Tomlinson deserves great credit for both the number and standard of matches that he officiated.
With the senior playing season now finished, the members can look forward to the Presentation Evening taking place at Blacknest Golf Club on the 9th May, before having a well earned break. Pre-season training will start back at the club on Tuesday 7th July, and any new players would be made most welcome (contact Club Captain Karl Brown 07795490922 or simply turn up).
Farnham 2nd XV 7 – 43 Old Whitgiftians 2nd XV 04.04.0
On the final game of the season spirits were high in the Farnham camp as they put together a mixture of 2’s, 3’s and Vets to face a strong Whitgift team who were pushing for promotion.
Farnham started the game superbly and the front row of Andrew Mortimore, Tank and Richard Gregory destroyed the opposition scrum. The home team used their superior size advantage to good effect only to be held up short of the line after some courageous defending by the Whitgift back row, and some powerful running by Craig Macey.
Farnham then switched off for a period of 20 minutes which allowed the opposition to take the game by the scruff of the neck as they proceeded to score 4 unanswered tries and a penalty due to nothing more than missed tackles and the ability to lose their own line out ball (a strong theme through this season!!!).
Farnham did up the tempo before half time and showed what they were capable of with No.8 Tom Foster making a number of breaks from the base of the scrum, and with some good hands in the backs Farnham were unlucky to come away without any points.
After several changes at half time Farnham started the half at a ferocious pace and some great interplay between Lee Mans and the Farnham forwards led to James Trodden side stepping his man and touching down for the 5 points. Paddy King calmly converted.
Whitgift responded superbly but the game was all but over after the evergreen Simon Debenham gave his opposite number a lesson in yoga, and Whitgift had to go to uncontested scrums. What was surprising was the fact that we dominated the scrums and the said player was still fine to lift in the line out!!! With the strongest part of the Farnham game taken away from them heads dropped and several scores later by the Whitgift backs saw the scoreboard take a bit of a hammering.
There were glimpses of some great play by Farnham but as their performance rose, so did the confrontation off the ball and the referee had his work cut out keeping both teams in check, with Keith Moore (surprisingly) and Ant Bartram (very un surprisingly) getting a stern telling off for retaliation. A mention must go to Paddy King who bravely said to his opposite number “see that club house? That’s ours and I will see you in there afterwards”!!!
Farnham worked hard till the final whistle and the scoreline of 43 – 7 does not do justice to their performance and in particular the performance of the forwards. It was great to see so many generations of Farnham Rugby coming together for the final game of the season.
The 2nd team will take a well deserved break over the summer and look forward to pre season training on the 14th July.
Farnham also had their Captains Supper on Saturday evening with a great evening had by all (those of you who can remember; Ant and Rupert!!), and thanks to all who showed up. I think it was worth it for Tank’s naked press ups alone!!
Farnham 2nd XV 17 – 32 Camberley 2nd/3rd XV 28.02.09
After a late opposition change, arriving 30 minutes before kick off, a poor warm up and being told the opposition would be uncontested in the scrums; Farnham took to the field in a rather relaxed mood for this local derby.
Farnham started the better team and although they couldn’t use their superior strength in the scrums they managed to involve Tank and Sid Cranstone early on as they made some inroads into the opposition defence.
With 15 minutes gone the pressure told on Camberley and Farnham were awarded a penalty just inside the opposition half which skipper Keith Moore converted.
Unfortunately this was the last piece of rugby Farnham were to play in the half and Camberley set about destroying their counterparts. With some quickly recycled ball and their quick backs providing the finishing touches Camberley scored 4 unanswered tries through nothing more than shocking tackling.
Farnham went into the 2nd half 22 – 3 down and looking at a very embarrassing scoreline. Their luck did not change when the ball shot out of an uncontested scrum on their own try line and straight into the hands of the pouncing opposition scrum half who duly fell over the line.
It was again poor communication and poor tackling that enabled Camberley to score another try out wide, and at last this seemed to wake Farnham up and put an end to Camberley’s running game.
With the tackling improving and the forwards finally delivering what they had promised the Farnham backs found themselves with quick ball, and a superb line by James Corlett saw him score just left of the posts. Conversion scored.
Farnham threatened the opposition line several times and were unlucky to come away without any points after a 5 minute assault on the opposition try line.
With 5 minutes to go Gabe Hills who had moved to scrum half, picked the ball from the base of the scrum in his own half, saw a gap and scored a great individual try after side stepping 3 defenders and winning the foot race to score under the posts. Again Keith Moore added the extras.
Farnham continued to pepper the opposition with attacks but it was too late and the final score of 32 – 17 summed up their performance.
Farnham again face Camberley away in the league this weekend but can travel confident knowing they can up their game by at least 50%.
Farnham 2nd XV 3 - 33 Woking 1st XV
Spirits were high for this local derby and after an inspiring warm up Farnham took to the field ready to take the game to Woking.
Farnham started as they had promised and played the ball through the phases taking on the opposition pack. For the first time this season Farnham dominated the scrum and line out areas for the first half, and combined with the strong running from James Corlett and Charlie Cooksey in the centres Woking looked very vulnerable.
The pressure finally told after 5 minutes when Farnham were awarded a penalty in front of the posts which Keith Moore duly converted.
One of the consistent themes this season from the 2nd XV is the ability to give away silly penalties in their own half, and again they were penalised offering the Woking kicker the chance of an easy 3 points.
Heads did not drop and the home side turned the pressure on even more, spending the next 10 minutes camped in the oppositions half. A fine set of moves orchestrated by the ever present Hannes Van Schoor saw Farnham cross the try line 3 times, but each time the referee had judged the ball to be held up. Woking eventually cleared their lines and Farnham came away with nothing.
Woking managed to get themselves back in the game with some strong running from their back row, but for much of the half the strong tackling from John Darke and Ben Findlay kept them at bay.
After some strong defence Farnham eventually succumbed to the pressure and some missed tackles saw Woking score under the posts, although it was clear to everyone apart from the referee that a Farnham hand had touch the ball down first. With the conversion scored the score was now 3 – 10.
Another couple of silly penalties saw the Woking kicker add another 6 points to his tally and again some sloppy defending allowed the opposition No.8 to pick from the base of the scrum to stroll in untouched.
Farnham came together at half time down by 3 points to 21, but unfazed by the task ahead of them, again came out firing.
The strong running of the Farnham pack saw them set the ball up a number of times on the opposition line but again the Woking defence withstood the barrage of Farnham shirts and the home team felt aggrieved to come away with no points.
It was this point where the home side’s heads really dropped and Woking finished the stronger team running in 2 more break away tries.
Barring some good individual performances, notably Keith Harding, Farnham did not gel on the day and finished the day rueing there missed chances and wondering what could have been against a side they clearly had the capability of beating.
Special mentions go to John Darke and Ben Findlay for their defensive work, Keith Harding for his work rate, and until he came off Hannes for his flair. A mention must go to my Dad (Les Moore) for coming off the bench to replace Hannes and being on the pitch all of 2 minutes before going offside and getting into a fight. If this 2nd team are to progress to their full potential we really need to get good numbers at training, be more clinical and stop letting the opposition dominate the way we play and be more aggressive in the contact areas.
Farnham 2nd XV 5 – 55 Old Wimbledonians 2nd XV 31.01.09
After a poor performance against the same opposition earlier in the season Farnham were determined to make amends and really show what they were capable of. The talk before the game was about taking the game to Wimbledonians and using the significantly larger pack to make holes in the defence allowing the backs to run the ball at every opportunity.
Unfortunately before the first whistle it was plain to see that this was not to be their day. As they did in the earlier fixture Wimbledonians failed to field a front row meaning uncontested scrums, and advantage to the opposition.
Poor first up tackling and the unwillingness to work for the ball early on meant Farnham found themselves 3 scores down within 15 minutes, and looking at an embarrassing defeat. The only chances for Farnham in the first half came with two penalty opportunities, but skipper Keith Moore had a bad day with the boot missing all 3 attempts he had at the posts.
Wimbledonians clearly wanted the win more than their counterparts and again sloppy tackling and communication led to several more scores in the first half, which the flawless opposition’s full back converted.
Finally in the last five minutes of the half Farnham were kicked into gear and started to play to the game plan, which led to several phases of good running rugby, only for the referee to penalise the home team for going off their feet.
Farnham started the 2nd half with lots of enthusiasm and the hard running Ant Bartram started to make in roads to the opposition defence, with the ball being superbly distributed by South African debutant Hanis.
It was again a missed first up tackle that gave Wimbledonians their first score of the half and opened the flood gates for this strong running Wimbledonians team.
After several more scores for the away team and a well worked try for Farnham's Ant Bartram; the game was somewhat dampened by a 30 man brawl with only Farnham being surprisingly penalised by a referee who appeared to be in favour of the opposition.
After a final try for Wimbledonians the whistle sounded and an exhausted Farnham put aside their differences with the opposition and showed their sportsmanship giving the opposition the historic Farnham tunnel.
Farnham worked for the full 80 minutes and showed pride in the shirt but for this team to progress and move forward their needs to be a real effort to attend training and show their true potential.
Farnham 2nd XV 7 – 15 Old Cats 2nd XV 24.01.09
After Farnham had narrowly beaten Old Cats earlier in the season the opposition would clearly be looking for revenge, and from the off their intentions were obvious.
Farnham started the game playing into the low and beating sun that had eluded the pitches earlier in the week, and with atrocious conditions under foot it was plain to see that this was not to be a champagne fuelled exhibition of rugby!!
Farnham got the better of their counterparts in the early exchanges and took the game to Old Cats; notably Mark Panton who’s strong running opened up the Cats defence. The Farnham forwards dominated up front and continuous pressure in the opposition half finally told when the ball was neatly taken through the phases before being passed to the returning Lee Mans to step his man and off load to the strong running James Frost, who danced around 2 defenders before crashing over the line. Captain Keith Moore duly converted the conversion in front of the posts.
The home team then took their foot off the gas and allowed Old Cats back into the game. Indiscipline in the Farnham 22 lead to a series of penalties which culminated in the Old Cats number 8 scoring beneath the posts. Conversion missed.
The rest of the half was end to end with Farnham having the only chance of points but unfortunately a penalty attempt sailed just wide of the posts.
With the half time score at 7 – 5, Farnham re grouped and the message was to slow the game down, show the commitment that has been in abundance all season and to give the substantial home support something to cheer about.
Old Cats clearly had the same idea and came at Farnham from the beginning of the half. The opposition number 8 and fly half who were fantastic throughout started to control the game but strong defence from the Farnham back line kept Old Cats at bay.
Again a sloppy penalty gave Old Cats a chance to take lead, and the fly half kicked a penalty to make the score 7 – 10.
This kicked Farnham into gear and the rest of the game was played in the Old Cats half. The home side’s forwards dominated the scrum and countless times the ball was recycled through the phases only for the final pass to go astray. Farnham thought they had touched down after Russell Edwards, who was magnificent throughout, had taken a crash ball over the line only to be told by the referee that the ball was held up.
The home team unfortunately switched off for a few seconds and allowed the opposition to run the ball from within their own half, after the ball seeing several pairs of hands the Old Cats fly half touched down for the try; conversion missed.
With 3 minutes on the clock Farnham looked deflated but managed to get their heads up with Man of the Match Vince Wiltshire orchestrating their fight back. Again Farnham strived for the line but it was not meant to be.
The final score of 7 – 15, was a reflection of a close fought game that Farnham should have won, but Old Cats dug deep and deserved their victory through their sheer will power not to give in.
A huge thanks to all 18 players who played their part in a fantastic game, and who never gave in. At the start of the game we said that no one comes off the pitch with anything left in the tank, and afterwards it was clear to see that everybody gave their all.
Special mentions to Tank who worked his b***s off and made in roads into the Old Cats defence all game, and man of the match Vince Wiltshire who took the game to the opposition and led the forwards superbly.
Farnham 2’s 7 – 0 Basingstoke 3’s 17.01.09
As no games were played last week due to the icy weather the majority of the team hadn't played since before Christmas and were likely to be a bit rusty especially against a usually strong Basingstoke side. Farnham seemed a bit quiet during the warm up and this carried through to the start of the game.
Basingstoke started strongly and Farnham realised they had to wake up quickly if they were to avoid conceding points. Farnham slowly gained in strength and started playing nearer to the ability they knew they had as the first half wore on, with both sides strong in defence and no real scoring opportunities for either side.
Things changed in the second half as Farnham started looking much stronger and more confident than they had in the first. From the kick off Farnham took the ball into the Basingstoke half and kept it there for the majority of the half although the oppositions strong defence preventing any change in the scoreline. With 15 minutes left in the half Farnham finally managed to capitalise on the pressure they had been applying, when after several good phases from the forwards driving the ball on ending in prop Andy Coutts finding himself with a gap in front of him. Running hard for the line he grounded the ball under the posts despite Basingstoke's best efforts and provided an easy kick for Dan Beattie for the extra 2 points.
The rest of the half continued with Farnham keeping up the pressure but failing to find any other points. The best opportunity going to the backs with a good break by the centres which could of been completed if Tom Kirkham's pass to Adam Hailstones had managed to reach it's target. The game ended with just the 7 points separating the sides in what was a close and hard fought game, with neither side backing down and good defence all round.
Farnham 2’s 8 – 32 Kingston 2’s 29.11.08
After a change of venue at the last minute Farnham made the short trip up the A3 to face a strong Kingston side. Arriving with the bare 15, and bringing together a mixture of new and old heads this was always going to be a hard task for this spirited Farnham team.
From the moment Farnham kicked off the away forwards had the upper hand on their counter parts but unfortunately they could not recycle or retain the ball to enable our fast set of backs to run.
Although Farnham play to a game plan week in, week out it just was not happening this week and Farnham were made to pay.
The Kingston forwards worked their way into the game, and started to make Farnham envious of the way they took the ball through the phases and tied in the Farnham defence. On a number of occasions Farnham managed to secure turn over ball but were unable to put this to good use.
Twenty minutes into the first half Kingston scored a try in the corner, but Farnham came out fighting and after some well applied pressure were awarded a penalty which Rob Cooper duly converted to keep the travelling team in touch with their hosts.
Farnham‘s heads never went down but unfortunately they were not quick enough to react in defence and were also punished with some marginal decisions from the referee enabling Kingston to build a score.
After a few player and positional changes late on in the 2nd half Farnham showed exactly what they were capable of.
From a perfect catch and drive off the line out Farnham trundled their way up the pitch, to release the gazelle like Jason Flanagan into space in the opposition half, only for him to be stopped short of the line, but a great off load in the tackle and support from Sven Kolzack led to the latter crashing over the try line.
With the conversion missed and some very tired faces the final score was Kingston 32 – Farnham 8.
Man of the Match was Young Brad Mitchell, (Aussie centre), D**K of the day goes to Big Jason and as a team we all share the bad man of the day as we let silly errors pay dividend to Kingston.
Guy’s thanks for turning up and come on let us get back to playing Rugby as we should.
Farnham2nd XV 15 – 29 Cranleigh 2nd XV
A mixture of 2’s, 3’s and Vets made the short trip to Cranleigh on Saturday to face a side that on paper should have been an easy win for Farnham, especially considering the amount of Vets they had in their side.
The talk before the game was all about how we were to dominate them up front and make every tackle count. Within the first 10 minutes it was plain to see, after being 10 – 0 down that the Farnham game plan had been thrown out of the window and they had reverted back to the non confident, one dimensional game that was played last season.
The older heads of the Cranleigh team totally outmuscled the Farnham forwards in the first half, and showed real aggression in winning the ball for their backs to run at the Farnham defence.
Farnham competed well out wide when they had the ball but after several scrums, rucks and mauls Farnham found themselves going into half time 15 – 0 down.
The message at half time was simple; front up, play the game on our terms and show some aggression!!
A number of changes at half time seemed to rejuvenate Farnham and Ben Murphy, Ant Bartram and Welsh Steve made a huge impact coming into the back row, to control the ball and take the game to Cranleigh.
After a lucky score from Cranleigh, the 15 minutes that followed was a joy to watch. On 3 occasions the Farnham forwards took the ball on a few phases before it was distributed to the backs for them to run some great lines and split the Cranleigh defence apart.
The outcome of these moves was 3 tries from Ant Bartram, Dom Bolas and the pick of the bunch by Chris Panton who was on hand to touch down after some great running by Rob Cooper. Unfortunately skipper Keith Moore had an off day with the boot and missed the conversions, but Farnham were now buzzing with the thought of only 7 points in the game.
As seems to be the case this season Farnham let their discipline slip which enabled Cranleigh to slow the game down and play at their pace. With a player from each team in the sin bin after a disagreement as to whether Ben Murphy was allowed to stroke the Cranleigh centres back with his boot, the game deteriorated into a stop start affair.
With minutes to go Cranleigh again took the game by the scruff of the neck and scored a breakaway try. In this period there could have been a number of tries scored had it not been for the heroic defence of Chris Panton and Rob Cooper.
At 15 – 29 down Farnham can only have themselves to blame and need to take a serious look at themselves before they face a strong Kingston team this Saturday.
Farnham’s man of the match was Andy Couts who had a great game in the loose and made a break from the half way line only to be stopped just short of the try line with a returning Sven Kolczak struggling to keep up!!
Notable mentions to Murph, Ant, Steve, Chris P and Coops and Tank for his 2nd half performance.
D**K of the day goes to Murph for coming onto the pitch for 10 minutes, only to be sin binned for shoeing the inside centres back. It has to be said Murph was quite within his rights as the player was totally on the wrong side of the ball. Gary Stennett would have been very proud!!
Farnham 2nd XV 3 – 40 Warlingham 2nd XV 15.11.08
With a number of players drafted into the 1st XV this was always going to be a hard afternoon for this spirited 2nd XV.
After yet another lethargic warm up and struggling to get 15 players on the pitch Farnham started at a very lack lustre pace, and were made to pay by this bigger, stronger and more physical Warlingham team. Within 20 minutes Farnham found themselves 21 – 0 down through nothing more than missed tackles, and an un willingness to take responsibility for their individual roles.
Half way through the first half Farnham finally woke up and started to show exactly what they were capable of. With the set pieces coming together and the ball being put through the phases, Farnham found themselves just short of the opposition line with the try seeming inevitable, but the Warlingham indiscipline led to them leaving with just 3 points through the boot of Keith Moore.
The rest of the half the games was evenly played with both sets of backs making inroads into the oppositions defence, but neither team could produce the final pass.
Farnham spent most of the 2nd half defending against the strong Warlingham runners and showed great courage and commitment to the cause. With the referee unfortunately taking a dis like to the home team, Farnham seemed to be constantly on the back foot and conceded another 3 tries.
Farnham did break the gain line a number of times and were unlucky not to come away with a try after Jim Davies had his score rules out for the second week in a row, after a number of bodies had blocked the ref’s view.
With the final score showing 3 – 40 Farnham can still hold their heads high after a great defensive performance against a superior side.
Man of the match Ben Findley was awesome in defence and notable mentions go to the strong running Sid Cranstone, Jonny Andrews for his attacking and defensive effort, Chris Dury who had a fine game at scrum half with little protection and Andy Couts who wore his opposite number down in the scrums.
There was no official D**K of the day, but if we had one he knows who he is. All I’m saying is 2 weeks in a row!!!
There must be a concerted effort to attend training this week so that we can get our basic game plan back in the mind set and start to build from where we were a couple of weeks ago.
Farnham 2's 38 - 5 Old Guildfordians 1's 08.11.08
Let me tell you a story ladies and gentalmen of this fine club…
On a rainy, cold, muddy Saturday morning in November our fine rugby-playing heroes set out to conquer the mighty fields of Stoke Park, the home of Old Guidlfordians. In order to do this everybody (by everybody, I of course mean some) of the people who said they would show up showed up and huddled in the rain for a while for no real reason and then headed of to the distant and sodden pitches of Old Guidlfordians. Notable exceptions include Richard Philips (now to be known as Dicky P) who was manfully watching ‘The sound of music’ instead of playing and Deano, who had man-flu. Young Angus and CJ were also notable by their absence.
After a spot of faffing around, some light jogging and a bit of token stretching that is a second team warm up it was time to be the Rugby playing behemoths we knew we could be. However, it should be very much pointed out at this stage that the rain was horizontal and the pitch looked like a bad day at the Somme. A fine day for a spot of Rugger!
The first half started very promisingly with the young and sprightly Nibsly working space for a lovely angle of running from our man Ed Weeks to crash over the line about close as damn it from the kick off. As a result of this, feeling was high in the Farnham camp. The first half then continued in this vain as Anthony Bartram capitalised on a miss timed pass from Old Guilfordians to score a delightful interception and break away try. Similar feats of physical daring were also accomplished by one Mr Mike Salmon as he showed his trade mark lightning pace to ghost past a number of OG players on his way to the line. However, to describe this game as a shining example of free flowing rugby would be unfair as the mud, rain and wind conspired to keep the champagne cork well and truly on for the duration of the game.
Compliments must be made to the Old Guildfordians pack as they fronted up well and gave a very good physical account of themselves. This was shown half way through the first half as they muscled there way over the line through some weak Farnham tackling.
This score seemed to rejuvenate the Farnham side as they then went on to work well together. Ed Weeks managed to cut another sublime line and go under for his second and some lovely communication and delightfully timed passing resulted in a line break and a 50 meter dash from yours truly, the stand in Captain for the day, to score his first try of the season just before half time.
At half time the Stand in Captain took himself off as his lungs seemed not to be working and young Mr Black stood up to the plate. Mike Salmon also took a early shower after such promising quotes as “Can I come off please, my hangover is so bad I am going to be sick.” Also brought from the bench was Ben Findlay for James Frost. Frosty got to go back on quickly into the second half after Ed Weeks received what can only be described as ‘a bit of a bang’ and decided to take a early shower. Jug avoidance if you ask me, as he already had ten points to his name.
The developing quagmire dominated the second half as the two teams slugged it out in the middle of the pitch. The less said about it the better really the two teams kits started to look very similar; a stylish mud brown. Fortunately our pugilists from Farnham are used to performing in such conditions and half way through conspired to score the only points of the half. After some dogged rucking and mauling one sledgehammer like Jim Davies did a passable impression of a wrecking ball and smashed his way from the side of ruck over the line to thump the ball down on the ground and start celebrating. Unfortunately the ref was on the wrong side of the ruck and only saw the ball role forwards after it had been slammed down. Knock on apparently. Ooops! This proved to be a little upsetting for our man Jim who was most put out about his denied try. Never mind though, a quick turn over and the man Clarky managed to get himself on the score sheet instead, and this time the ref saw it! Mind you, the ever gracious Blackie later informed me that he would like to take the credit for the try as he “…picked up the hooker and made him squeal like a little pig.” Quite the sportsman our Blackie.
Special mentions in the game should also go to Andy “ I only kick points when they are in the middle of the posts” James for a very respectable 4 from 6 kick stats. This is especially impressive given the conditions. James Frost also tacked his heart out as did Ben Findlay and the backs did exceptionally well to keep going given the condition.
All in a very respectable performance chaps, well done.
Special thanks should also good to Old Guildfordains for putting up a great fight and laying on some top nosh after the game. Thank you boys.
Man of the match: One Mr Ed Weeks – Two trys, some lovely angles of running and great tacking.
D### of the day: This wonderful award has to go to Jim Davis for celebrating what turned out to be interpreted as a knock-on. Unlucky pal!
Farnham 2’s 29 – 17 Old Caterhamians 2’s 01.11.08
On a day that was certainly not made for champagne rugby Farnham made the long journey up the M25 to Caterham, with slim hopes of getting anything from the game, as they arrived with 13 players!! Fortunately a very hospitable Caterhamians gave us the use of a prop (which turned out to be their best player!!) and a very useful back row.
After a shoddy warm up and a rushed team talk, Farnham started the game at a ferocious pace and the showed the opposition exactly what they were capable of. A number of times the ball was worked through the phases and shipped wide only for the atrocious conditions to intervene, with a number of knock on’s being made due to the rain.
The breakthrough finally came with a well worked move, and was finished off with a great kick and chase by the returning CJ Cooper; conversion scored.
For the next 20 minutes the floodgates seemed to open for this determined Farnham side, as they put together some great passages of play which culminated in tries from Dom Bolas, Ralph Philips (who has been surprisingly quiet about his try!!!!), and a fine individual try from Toby Comley. (Although he did finish it off with a very unnecessary dive).
With their foot off the gas Farnham conceded a sloppy try on the stroke of half time to enter the 2nd half 17 points ahead.
With the wind in their faces and the conditions seemingly worsening by the second it was always going to be a hard task to recreate the rugby played in the previous 40 minutes.
Both sides struggled with the conditions and most of the half was played in the middle of the pitch, with the odd breakaway by both teams.
Farnham’s defence was fantastic throughout and this was never more evident, than when the Caterham wing broke away on the half way line, and thought he was in until the stealth like Ralph Gordon tracked back at least 30 metres to put in an awesome tackle. (It must be said I had already lined my man up and would have definitely made the tackle; well possibly!!)
This seemed to inject some fight into the opposition forwards and they started to play Farnham at their own game. A number of penalties ensued on the Farnham try line and the defence held firm until the Caterhamians prop crashed over in the corner for the try.
This was the wake up call that was needed and Farnham fought hard to get themselves back in the game.
Farnham were rewarded for their work rate as Dom Bolas touched down for his 2nd try of the game after some Ronaldo-esque footwork. At this point in the game I couldn’t feel my feet and although the conversion missed I was quite pleased to see the ball go anywhere near the posts.
With the game seemingly won and all 30 players desperate for the final whistle, a cup of tea and a shower, Caterhamians managed to score a well worked try just left of the posts in the dying seconds, to give Farnham a winning score line of 29 -17.
This was a fine effort from the travelling Farnham team, and they adapted to the conditions and changed their game plan superbly. Farnham will look forward to the returning fixture as the point’s difference could have been a lot more with a firmer ground.
Huge thanks goes to Caterhamians who gave us the use of their players, and were keen to have a well contested match instead of us playing with 13. Thanks to Toby Comley and Ben Robertson for agreeing to play and also CJ Cooper who has promised he will see us all Tuesday night at training!!
After a quick discussion after the game it was decided that there were no nominations for D**k of the day as all 13 players played very well. Notable mentions to Ant Bartram, Ralph Gordon, CJ and Angus who had a huge game in the 2nd row, but the eventual man of the match goes to Ralph Philips. Don’t tell him but he was fantastic throughout and led the forwards superbly in very difficult conditions.
Old Wimbledonians 2’s 24 – 0 Farnham 2’s 25.10.08
A strong Farnham team turned up at a disorganised Old Wimbledonians with high hopes of claiming the win.
Unfortunately we had a very subdued warm up and the mindset from the off was clearly not right.
Wimbledonians started by telling us we would be uncontested in the scrum, they had no match ball and they needed to use rolling subs; you would have thought this would have given Farnham the motivation they needed to take the game to Wimbledon, but the opposite was the case.
Farnham found themselves 3 tries down in the first 20 minutes and looking at a very embarrassing defeat. The first up tackling was appalling and the willingness to work for the win was non existent. When we did have the ball basic handling errors and poor execution were to let us down.
Farnham finally decided to get out of first gear and spent the next 20 minutes camped in the opposition half; using their proven rucking and mauling skills to great effect. It was only down to our repeated indiscipline that we entered the 2nd half scoreless. It was then that we found ourselves on the wrong side of the ref (a feature of this season!!), much to the annoyance of Browner who politely asked the opposition open side 3 times to get on the right side of the ball before he did the ref’s job for him and used the conventional ‘bottom of the boot method’ to clear the man out. Unfortunately the ref didn’t see this the same way as Karl and we were penalised again.
Having failed to deliver on their pre match talk Farnham started to keeping the ball up their jumpers and moving their way up the pitch. Again we were repeatedly penalised for being the retaliators to incidents, even though the ref had seen Wimbledon constantly break the laws.
With 20 mins left the ref had finally seen enough and gave Nick Robertson 10 minutes in the bin for “throwing a punch”. Although he was being held down by 2 Wimbledonians players, this was our first nomination for D**k of the day as Nick decided to throw a ‘slap’, I repeat a slap, that missed by a country mile!!! Wimbledonians used their superior numbers to great effect and a good team move through a number of hands saw them score under the posts.
The referee came back on the Farnham side with 3 minutes to go and sin binned one of the opposition for hands in the ruck, but this was to prove too late and the final result was 24 – 0.
There will need to be a huge effort in training this week if we are to get back on track for our game against Caterhamians. Our intensity in training needs to be lifted and our willingness to train like we play needs to be improved. Again our indiscipline was annoyingly poor and this must be changed if we are to not get a reputation.
The eventual D**k of the day was myself for letting the ball bounce and being embarrassed as it went through my legs; our man of the match award went to Jim Davies who worked for the full 80 minutes and was always on hand to carry the ball.
Although everyone was clearly annoyed at our performance it was good to see our social side come out as we had a few beers in the oppositions club whilst they repeatedly walked past us with a number of jugs for their own players and made no effort to socialise with us at any point.
We must move on from this defeat, but we must not forget Wimbledonians hospitality or their willingness to ruin our game in the return fixture!!
Farnham 2’s 7 – 44 Old Readingensians 3’s 18.10.08
After their emphatic win last weekend Farnham 2 XV had high expectations as they entertained a very strong Readingensians team.
Attacking into the sun, Farnham made the worst possible start by conceding an early try through a lack of defensive concentration. With the try converted F’ham re grouped and took the game to Reading. Some great rucking set up a platform for the F’ham backs to make some in roads into the opposition defence with Sid Cranston eventually crossing the line with defenders in tow.
The conversion made, F’ham again switched off and some missed first up tackling enabled the Reading flanker to score in the corner. F’ham tried to stamp their mark on the game but a lack of discipline led to an easy penalty for the Reading kicker.
At half time F’ham were still in the game and eager to impress the substantial crowd, but failed to deliver what they promised. In phases F’ham showed what they are capable of and man of the match Ben Findley set a standard in defence that unfortunately some of the F’ham team didn’t follow. A constant lack of discipline and willingness to take responsibility for the ball meant that Readingensians scored a number of trys in the 2nd half; with the final outcome being Farnham 7 – 44 Old Readingensians.
In patches F’ham showed they have considerably moved on from last season and are starting to form a structure for an exciting brand of rugby, but they must cut out their silly mistakes and their constant bickering with the ref and each other!!
A quick mention to Ben Findley who was man of the match, d**k of the day Jonny Andrews for a terrible missed tackle and also congratulations to Chris Cotton for making through 2 consecutive games of rugby with coming off injured!! On a serious note James Trodden had what looked like a serious ankle injury and we wish him a speedy recovery.
Farnham 2’s 18 – 3 Battersea Ironsides 2’s
Once we eventually got all 18 players on the pitch for a warm up, it seemed to take an eternity to get everyone’s heads in gear and ready for the game ahead. After some choice words from yours truly and a few others we finally switched on and took to the field ready to take whatever Battersea threw at us.
After a nervy first 10, (not being helped by my inability to find touch on several occasions!!) we finally settled down and took Ironsides apart for the next 70 minutes. The forwards were immense through the whole game and on several occasions in the first half we ‘castled’ our way up the pitch, combining well with the backs to make some inroads to the Battersea defence. Murph’s hamstring decided to go early on so Ed Weeks was brought in to take his place. The pressure finally told when after several phases in the opposition 22 the Ironsides tight head was sin binned for falling on the wrong side of the ball. With the penalty in front of the posts it would have been easy to take the 3 points but after much deliberation we decided to run the ball and make them pay for lack of numbers. After the ensuing rucks, and I can’t believe I’m saying this “some good hands by Ralph Phillips” Ant Bartram touched down in the left hand corner. With the conversion scored we found ourselves in the unusual position of being in the lead in the first 20 minutes.
Unfortunately for us with their prop being in the bin, it meant un contested scrums, much to the annoyance of Sid and Jim, but we still dominated them in every area of the pitch. It was only our indiscipline that gave them an undeserved 3 points in front of the posts for a silly penalty. We were rewarded again for our efforts with a penalty in front of the posts, which I scored to take us into half time 10 – 3 up. James Frost had to come off late on in the half and was replaced by debutant Ben Findley, who went to the wing whilst Ant went into the centre; Clarkey decided to split his lip right on half time and Woody manfully stepped in to 2nd row. Unlike previous weeks people decided to listen to what was being said at half time and took the messages on board.
We carried on as we had finished the first half and were given a penalty in the Ironsides half which was scored. After working our way up the pitch the ball was unfortunately knocked on but the ensuing scrums were a joy to watch!! In the first one we drove them back a good 5 yards but the ref wanted the scrum reset, this time we drove them back again and turned their entire scrum to give the ref no other option but to give Farnham the put in. Again driven back the forwards worked well with the backs to put some great phases together, and after a number of pick and goes Stuart Rimmer dived over in the corner. It must be said that it was getting quite dangerous for the Ironsides front 5 as they were pushed into the ground a number of times in the scrum, and this enabled a great platform for Farnham to play their rugby. Conversion missed we seemed to switch off for the next 10 minutes and lose our heads. Twice we were marched back 10 metres by the referee for not agreeing with his decision and this let the Ironsides fullback (who had a giant boot!!) probe the corners. Just the same as the previous 70 minutes our defence held strong and the ball was turned over for us to play keep ball for the rest of the game.
Although the score does not quite reflect the way we played it was plain to see that we were in control for the full 80 minutes. All 18 players were fantastic and I think there was only 2 missed tackles from our side all game!! Some special mentions to Ralph, Jonny Andrews, Ed Weeks and Ant Bartram for their performance; although this was certainly a team effort. I must however raise the issue of our indiscipline. Never should we be marched back for arguing with the referee (If you want to play football the pitch is behind our club house), and coming into the side of a ruck or maul is going to get you penalised!! This must be addressed before our next game.
Before it gets mentioned at training I must apologise for my pathetic attempt at a fly hack in our own 22 which I missed, and you can keep my d**k of the day pint in reserve for next week. I must also apologise for the outstanding “MARK” that I called only to hear the ref say “you can’t call a mark from a penalty” as I was driven back 10 metres over our try line by the Ironsides back row!! A mention must also go to Dom ‘I jump like a fairy’ Bolas for his poor attempt at catching one of our drop outs.
Farnham 2’s 15 – 40 Old Cliftonians 1’s
Farnham’s morning did not start well as we lost one player before we travelled and one in transit; although our hopes where raised when we arrived to find our hosts only had 14 men. But as we thought things where getting better the ref informed us that it would be uncontested scrums from the start.
Farnham playing into the wind started well applying pressure on our hosts but were quickly on the wrong end of 2 scores against the run of play, it would have been one score if either side had a touch judge as Angus had put his man in touch before they scored.
Farnham showed good heart and went straight back at Cliftonians and were soon on the score board after a Nigel Rooney penalty. Farnham maintained the pressure and went close to scoring on a couple of occasions before some good forward play from the line out gave quick ball to the backs and after a break from fly half Tom Kirkham and some good hands in centre, winger Denver scored in the corner.
After uninspiring half time team talk from wind bag captain Harding, Farnham carried on where they left off, but it was a day of almosts even with numerous line breaks from PC Dom, Ralph Gordon & Chris Hughes Farnham could not quite get the scores they did deserve.
Farnham did get over the line again when Murph took a quick tap penalty and scored under the posts with Roons adding the extras.
As Farnham tired Old Clift’s took advantage and scored 2 tries at the death to flatter the score line.
Wind bag heaped praise on his young sides effort with special mentions for Chris Hughes who had turned up for his last game before he went off to uni at hooker but spent most of the game on the wing and was used as line out jumper, James Frost who was walking wounded but stayed on & John Adams.
The good news for the team is that regular captain Keith More is back this week & wind bag is unavailable.
Farnham will be regretting this loss away against a strong Chobham side on Saturday, having dominated possession and territory, only to repeatedly fall foul of the referee’s interpretation of the new laws at the breakdown, and conceding several tries to counter attacks launched from well inside the Chobham half of the pitch.
Farnham began the match strongly, with the forwards putting together a number of controlled phases of play, before flanker Stuart Rimmer crashed over the line for a well deserved try. Despite Nigel Rooney missing the conversion, Farnham immediately reclaimed the kick off, and again drove strongly into the opposition half without quite managing to score any more points. Wingers Mark Panton and Ant Bartram both got held up over the whitewash, and on numerous other occasions the try went begging with only the last man to beat. Unfortunately Farnham also coughed up the ball inside the Chobham 22, only for Chobham to go the length of the field to score under the posts.
Undeterred Farnham again came back at their opponents, but the forwards repeatedly fell foul of the referee for bridging at the ruck, and much of their good work was undone. Whilst accepting that the referee was right in his interpretation of what Farnham were doing wrong, Farnham grew increasingly frustrated that he failed to penalise the home team for constantly failing to move away from the tackle area. Under a barrage of penalties Chobham found release from the pressure being applied by Farnham, and managed to score two more tries on the counter attack after Farnham had turned over ball.
At 5-21 Farnham had the opportunity to clarify what the referee was looking for at half time, and with a dominant pack and slope in their favour, they firmly believed that they could turn things around in the second half. Alas it was not to be, as the 2nd half became the most disjointed spectacle possible, with whistle after whistle and injury after injury preventing any flow to the match. Once again Farnham made repeated inroads, with the pack being adjudged held up on no less than four occasions, but when Chobham were reduced to uncontested scrums due to a front row injury, much of the sparkle went out of the Farnham side. A lack of concentration and poor first up tackling enabled Chobham to add a couple more tries, giving them an unbelievably flattering winning margin.
Hugely frustrating for the Farnham players, with the front row of Jim, Chris Greenwood, and Keith Harding performing particularly strongly, but work will need to be done at training on the breakdown area, and also on defending against teams on the counter attack.
Farnham 2XV 3 – 65 Old Pauline’s 2XV 13.09.08 On a surprisingly hot day Farnham knew this game was going to be hard work from the first whistle. Two tries down in the first 5 minutes would normally send any team’s heads down but with a new found confidence within the club Farnham kept battling to the very end.With only 3 points on the board to show for their first half’s efforts and a further 4 tries behind; the half time message was simple “damage limitation”.
A quick score by Old P’s finally gave Farnham the motivation they needed and for the next 20 minutes this was a different side that had played the first half. Some excellent training ground moves executed by the forwards and some good running lines by backs saw Farnham stopped short of the Old P’s line a number of times, and with a solid showing in defence things seemed to be looking up only for a severe lack in communication and fitness to let them down.
With Old P’s crossing the try line a number of times in the last 10 minutes Farnham finished the game rightfully embarrassed by the score line and are looking forward to making amends when they face Camberley at home on Saturday.
Farnham 2XV 19 – 31 Esher 4XV 06.09.08 A young and enthusiastic Farnham team took on an experienced and well organised Esher team for the first game of the season.
Both teams competed well from the off but it was Esher who took control with two quick trys in the first 20 minutes through some missed tackles by the Farnham defence. With only one try converted Farnham regrouped and took the game to Esher, with both forwards and backs combining to show what this side is capable of. A series of rucks and some good distribution by the young Nigel Rooney led to the Farnham backs breaking the gain line on a number of occasions, only to falter at the decisive pass.
Entering the break at 12 – 0 down, the message was simple; tighten up the defence and look for the final pass.
Farnham made a great start to the 2nd half taking the Esher forwards on up front, and after a number of phases the ball was passed to the ever present Toby Comley to side step his man and touch down just right of the posts. With the conversion missed Farnham felt they were right back in this game and it was only for a lapse of concentration that Esher scored a quick reply to stretch the gap to 12 points.
Farnham again went back at Esher and a move through the Farnham backs saw Kieran Marshall score his first try for the club; conversion scored. Unfortunately Farnham were over eager for the next 10 minutes and conceded 2 well executed tries by the Esher back row.
Disheartened by their mistakes Farnham finished the game on a high, with the forwards taking the ball through several phases of play on the Esher line and debutant Denver Swanepoel crashed over to give Farnham their 3rd try of the game. With skipper Keith Moore claiming his 2nd kick of the day the final whistle sounded leaving Farnham feeling very proud of their display and commitment for the full 80 minutes, along with a good building block for the rest of the season.
Farnham RFC Pre-Season Tour to Stroud A sign of the positive atmosphere being created by Farnham RFC was the attendance of nearly 30 players on a pre-season training weekend to Stroud RFC over the weekend of 29th - 31st August. The weekend was superbly organised by Graeme Black and Mark (Woody) Woodward, and saw the players taking part in a coaching session on the Saturday morning, before playing four twenty minute matches against Stroud in the afternoon. This format allowed both teams to look at various combinations and tactics, and despite the chopping and changing of personnel, some excellent rugby was played, with Stroud shading the honours.
Following some team bonding in Cirencester on the Saturday night, the two teams played a further full match on the Sunday morning, with Farnham winning 27 points to 15. Adam Hailstones, Keith Moore, Fran Meager, Mark Woodward, and Deane Chiverton all scored tries, whilst two of the tries were converted. Chiverton was Farnham’s man of the match in the Saturday games, whilst Andy Stent played particularly well on the Sunday, and Steve Simmonds was awarded Tourist of the Weekend for his excellent playing performances and strong contributions to the various team building activities that went on.
These are exciting times for Farnham, with several new players on the scene, excellent attendance at training, and a fantastic team spirit building. The players are keen to improve and are receptive to advice offered, and the Stroud experience has given the coaching team lots of positives to build on.
The pre-season programme continues on Tuesday nights at the club and on Thursday nights on the Polo Fields in Aldershot, with both training sessions starting at 7.15p.m. New players are welcome to attend by simply turning up, or by contacting Club Captain Karl Brown (07795490922) for further information.
Farnham 3 - 33 Woking
