6TH March 2010

Farnham 3rds 0 – Reading 51 at Reading Rugby Club

With our league game cried of (Streatham and Croydon) we had a last minute gasp to get a game on Friday Night. After several hours on the phone I managed to come up trumps with a game away to Reading. Although they play two or three leagues above us this game was a step up and to try and put Farnham back on the map.

We had a good warm up with Keith Daniels taking it, but lost the toss and played up hill for the first half. From the kick of it was clear to see that they were going to spread the ball out and use the width and depth of the pitch. Farnham closed the play down but out first up tackles were not the best and after several minutes they broke our game line to score. This happened several  times the first half a total of five tries were scored of which they only converted three giving a half time score of 31 – 0.

A couple of changes at half time and some new faces in the side we started well in the second half running the ball at reading and making good ground, we recycled well and started playing good old fashion running rugby. This was not with our ups and down as they got a penalty from Farnham being of side and hands in the ruck giving Reading a penalty, they converted.  Woody went off to give way to Mike Williams who is coming back from injury, so with ten minutes on the park Mike started to control the scrum giving some good ball to let Farnham run the length of the pitch but failing to go over the game line. The final whistle went and with a further three tries, one conversion and one penalty the final score was 51 – 0.

The score line does not reflect the fact that we played our hearts out, and the fact that we played a much higher set of players who play at level 11, when Farnham 3rds play at a level 14. I pat the back of every player who turned up and played their hearts out. If Farnham can play the way they played today we will hold our own against some of the stronger clubs in our league.

Well done to all and look forward to a HOME game next week we deserve it lads. It was great to see at least 12 players down at trg.

Woody

Old Emanuel’s vs Farnham

19 – 17

Tries

Scooby, hywell Jones, Julian Ranger

Conversions

A James

Farnham meet early on a damp and miserable day with a full squad and subs and travelled up the A3 to New Maldon. We all got ready and went into a simple warm up but this was very effective.  Farnham kicked off and within ten minutes Farnham had run the ball at Old Emanuel’s to go over the game line with tries from Scooby and Hywell Jones, unfortunately A James only managed to convert one of them. Farnham never took their foot of the gas and we just gave the Old Emanuel’s the chance to run at us.  Our scrum was struggling but the rest of the game play was on form recycling the ball well, giving the backs a chance to run and winning our lineouts.

Some poor decisions from the ref let Old Emanuel’s the chance to sneak a try in from a scrum giving the score 12 – 7. With only a few minutes left Old Emanuel’s had a lineout, the ball was thrown in not straight and with the ref getting in Scooby’s way this let their backs  score in the corner and they converted giving a half time score of 14 – 12.

At half time we made several changes and had a positive team talk, just keep the ball tight, and try to lock out more in the scrum. We started the second half with 14 players as Antony Bart’s was yellow carded for throwing the ball down and away. We kept it tight and spent most of the twenty minutes camped in the opposition half, this paid off with some outstanding driving and ball play for Julian Ranger to go over, A James failed to convert but we were back in the lead. The last twenty minutes was good old fashioned Rugby, ball in hand picking and going some several phases and passing out to the backs. However the Referee was having a shocker blowing his whistle for offences from Farnham but the whole game Old Emanuel’s were offside and killing the ball, how can we go forward with Ref’s like that. This showed when we stopped them going over the game line by holding the ball up and the ref awarding a penalty saying we had hands in the Ruck !!!!

One minute to go and they had a scrum our defence were ready but unfortunately they somehow got the ball to the wing and just dived over the corner to score, but they failed to convert final whistle was 19-17. Well done to all and some really fantastic defence and Rugby played by all, my man of the match was Scooby for his outstanding efforts at scrum half.

20 FEBUARY 10 - FRIENDLY

Farnham 8 - Racca Decca 28

Try scored - Hywel Jones

Penalty - Keith Moore

MATCH REPORT 13 FEBUARY 2010

Farnham 3rds 26 – Chobham 4ths 0

Tries

Kula x2 Antony Bart’s Ed Simpson

Conversions

Dan Lamport 3

The Game was on, it was off, because our league opponents cried off, but so did Chobhams opposition, they wanted a game as we did so we accepted the challenge of taking on a higher league opposition.

We warmed up and had a good run through, Farnham lost the toss and changed ends, from the kick off this game was going to be tough and with end to end Rugby Farnham recycled the ball well, had some brilliant breaks and won almost every scrum and lineout. After last week’s high performance there was still room for improvement, so with everyone reading the match report and the three main points reiterated to the team we came out with a fight.  We did not let our tackling let us down and with every tackle going in low we held the game to a half time 0-0 score.

We did not make many changes but swapped a few positions around and we kicked the second half off and we left off as the first half finished, however some brilliant tight play from the scrum, we had a break on and recycled the ball, we drew the opposition’s players to one end of the field and Kula broke through to score, a well deserved try, Dan Lamport converted.   Chobham tried to come back but our spirits were on overdrive and took the ball straight to them, this was a forwards game but we did ship the ball out to Bart’s who off loaded to Woody, he took the ball in to a maul and rolled for Ed Simpson to go over near the posts, Dan converted giving us a 14-0 lead.

We did not stop there changes were made and the Mitchell brothers (Paul and Stu) came on and what an impact, the ball was won from a lineout and shipped to the Mitchell’s who made some yards breaking through almost the back line of Chobham only to lose the ball from a chip, however we turned over and somehow Bart’s stole the ball from a ruck and went over under the posts, Dan L converted and this was such a good feeling 21 – 0. With seven minutes to go there was some foul play from both sides with a few high tackles but eventually we had a penalty and recycled the ball shipped one way then the next only for Kula to pick the ball up from a hospital pass to go over in the corner but Dan failed to convert giving us a 26 – 0 score. The final whistle went and what a fantastic feeling we had all given 110% and all were very knackered, but for the second game in four weeks the thirds had a clean sheet.

With all points taken on board we need to put this into the game week in and week out. Everyone should take a big pat on the back for all their hard efforts, well done to all! Training Tuesday and Thursday and a Game Saturday,( away meet time TBC.) Thanks lads it’s such a good feeling

Farnham 19 vs. Old Regations 28
 
Try Scorers
 
Woody
Mac
Ben Finley
 
Conversions
 
Johnny Weldon 2
 
Farnham had a good warm up and with some familiar faces we were ready to go, however kick off was delayed as a result of the opposition players getting lost. We were hanging around and needed to get started, eventually some twenty minutes late Farnham started off slow but not as slow as normal, this afternoon's fixture was going to be tough! With a few missed tackles Old Regations scored and converted.

We recycled the ball ok and as a result got a penalty some five meters out to which Andy Williamson gave Woody the ball but failed to get the ball over, but shipped the ball out wide only to lose the recycled ball and for Old Regations to run some good phase’s, they failed to go over the game line.

Ten minutes to go and Old Regations scored two tries and converted giving the half time score of 21 - 0 to Old Regations. A stern talk at half time, some well needed changes and a few words of wisdom from the coaching staff was all we needed and we started well in the second half winning the ball in the lineout, and a more solid scrum to eventually recycle the ball well and get some good breaks with all players going forward. Young Mac stole the ball from a ruck and broke away to score under the posts with Johnny Weldon converting we were getting back. After several phases of good ball retention we broke away again with big Dan Greene going down thinking he had scored some few meters out, Woody picked the ball up ran into players and rolled off going over the try line and score with the referee positioned in the right place, a try was scored, Johnny failed to score but it was 12 -21.

With ten minutes to go Farnham had a small spell loosing; due to Andy Williamson with a suspected damaged wrist we had to reshuffle, but loosing another try and convert in the score was 28 - 12. We needed to pull our socks up and come back fighting to which we did, Woody handed over the captain for the last 7 minutes to Martin Dawson, we ran everything and it worked allowing Ben Findley to break through and score, Johnny converted and was trying to get another but the final whistle went, at times like this we needed to have more time to try and get another but unfortunately this was not the case.

For Farnham to go further we need to get all players down to training on Tuesday and Thursday 19:00hrs at the club so we can practice lineouts and improve our fitness to get fit, we all need to make the extra effort, but I will say that all the players who turned out give yourselves a pat on the back and I will look forward to our next Game at Home 13th February against Chobham.  

1.   The boys must add some pace to the game both in decision making and movement around the pitch as we are making some nice breaks that come to nothinng throuhg lack of support.
2.   Clear the ruck area by getting under the opposition and driving them back to stop them slowing our ball down.
3.   Body positions in scrum, maul and ruck need to have lower hips and a more dynamic driving position.
4.  Overall the spirit was excellent, the turn out impressive and I thought that we could have won the game if more players had believed it.b

 
Regards
 
 
Woody (Captain 3rds)
 

14 Farnham 3XV vs. Cranleigh 26

Farnham travelled to Cranleigh with a full side and subs, so this was an improvement on last week. A few players got lost on the way but we all managed to achieve a little warm up and at least a run through or two. This was proven in the first ten minutes of the game when as usual we started off slow and it took that length to get into our stride. Once we got into that stride we were solid in the scrums and the lineouts were ok, however it was clear to see we had our work cut out. It was end to end stuff and both sides had our breaks but Cranleigh had two good breaks and capitalised to score giving then a 14 point lead. Mike Richards called from the side and I said we need to pull our socks up to which Farnham responded, it was our scrum to which we wheeled and Woody picked up on the blind, passed two players with a small side step and scored our first try under the posts, (some 25 yards out) Dan Lamport converted narrowing the gap. Farnham capitalised again due to some brilliant play from the forwards and finally we gave it to the backs and Kula went over with a crash, Dan Lamport very suspiciously converted giving us a level score.  However in the last two minutes Cranleigh touched over and converted giving a 21 – 14 score line at half time.

The half time talk was stern and we made a few changes due to a few niggles and started the second half as we finished the first half. In the second half our defence was better and communication started to play a big part in the game. Cranleigh kept on coming at Farnham but could not get through and Farnham had lots of unfortunate breaks which ended up with lots of turnover ball. During the last few minutes Cranleigh kicked and picked up to score in the corner but failed to convert. The final whistle went and the score line was 26 – 14 to Cranleigh.

Everyone deserves a big pat on the back for a fabulous effort; however could we build on that and please if everyone could give a little extra support and start to train on Tuesday and Thursday evenings, 19:00 hrs at the club; please even if you can come down for one or two. Could everyone respond to my texts to confirm your availability? Well done and thanks for today and I look forward to seeing you all next week; it’s a Home game meet at 13:00 hrs. 
 

FARNHAM 21 --  SUTTON & EPSON 0
 
 
The thirds started with a warm up of some 40 mins which we need to do as the result proved. The game kicked of with Farnham only having 14 but that was not a problem as you could see from the off we dominated the Game in 90% of the field. There were arears that let us down Scrum was solid but lost alot of ball, and we needed to improve on the lineouts. However ball retention Rucks and Mawls were brilliant and we kept possesion. This was a classic Rugby Game as Break after Break came with Our first try going to Dave stent helped by his Brother Andy to go over in the corner from four forward plays keeping the ball. Dan Lamport converted 7-0. We kicked off again and Andy Stent charged the ball down from a scrum to which he conected and kicked the ball to finally pick up and go over for another try, Dan converted and 30 mins in Farnham were 14 - 0 up and only 14 men good. 5 mins to go and Mac turned up a bit late but we got down to buisness and after some reshufling we started well and all of the first half was played in the oppositions half.
 
A good half time take and two changes and reshufling we kicked of the second half as we finished the first half. This half was going to be hard as Sutton and Epson wanted to come back at us. However we had tightened up all arears and our defence was solid. They won a lot af ball but we also stole ball in Sutton's lineout and we kept pushing and driving and to out surprise we played champagne rugby for new boy dickens to pick up from the back of a Ruck to go over under the post and Dan to convert 21 - 0 Farnham. With only three mins to go it looked as if Sutton would score but our defence was solid and kept them out. We only have a small amout of rebuilding to do MORE CHAT, but the rest of our game was solid and good to watch.
 
Several players stood out and even i had a great game thats says somthing but thanks to all those who playes and supported and dont forget Trg Tuesday and Thursday we need to get that bit more ounce about us and build. Well done thirds see you next week Game Away.

Farnham 14 - Old Mids 31
 
Farnham travelled to Old Mids Croyden with a full squad of players ready to do battle. We found out that the ref had not reffed for a long time and was rusty, but worst thing was he was one of there players how could we win.
Anyway we started poor, it was if we were still on the M25. And things did not get any better by the time the whistle went we were 24 points down, very poor display.
 
Farnham came out all guns blazing after a few changes and some good old fashion talking too. This paid of as from the whistle our hearts were back into Rugby with some good ball retention, breaks with support and scrums that would make the firsts jealous. With a scrum won in our 22 we pushed the ball up to there half giving the fast backs a chance to run, however it was safe to say that they did have some butter on there hands. We won a penelty on there 22 to which the forwards kept on recycling and with johny weldon calling the shots Woody took the ball up some 10 meters with Gareth and colin, ball came out fast and Johhny Wright just launched himself at the line to score an outstanding try, Ollie van converted we were back.      
 
Some five minutes of good play and camped in the opposition half we could see chances opening but could not break through. Old mid won a penelty to which we came away with the ball passed to Adam hailstones and with Ollie, and sips on his heals ran the whole lenght of the pitch to score what was an outstanding try, once again ollie converted. Farnham had a funny spell and lack of concentration to which old mids scored and converted taking them to 31. The game was not over we pushed and did all we can to try and score but it ended up we lost the battle but not the War, we can build on this.
 
Thanks to all that turned up and played Thank you. More thirds needed at trg Tuesday and Thursday night 1900 hrs. Lets go out with a bang 19th Home game against Old regations Please Please let me know your availability.
 
Thanks to all
 
Man of the Match - was a two way tie Gareth yeomans and Johnny weldon.

28th Nov ’09, 3rd XV v Streatham & Croydon (away)
 
15 – 26

After a long trek through heavy traffic to get to Streatham's ground we arrived with very little time before kick off and still missing a few stragglers stuck in traffic. The opposition kindly lent us a couple of players so we could get started and when the remains of our side did arrive we were still a man short and so retained one Streatham player to keep even sides.

From the start our lack of preparation and organisation cost us and it was not long before the home side scored their first points with a converted try. After the restart Farnham seemed to start to gel dominating the scrum and winning several against the head against what appeared to be a heavier pack. A series of good drives  from the forwards and couple of breaks from the backs soon found us with a scrum on the Streatham 5 yard line, from which Ben Findley (playing out of position in the centres), managed to find the gap for our first try, which Andy Williamson comfortably converted to bring us level.

Farnham continued in the same vein for most of the rest of the half pushing Streatham back over their own try line, giving us another try when a dropped ball by the opposition was quickly dived on by both Colin van der Bart and Tom Gough, although Tom graciously handed Colin the score. The conversion was missed, but we now had the lead. A lapse in concentration and a few missed tackles from Farnham shortly followed allowing a Streatham player to run most of the length of the pitch and score. This was quickly converted giving the home side a narrow lead at half time.

 Farnham started the second half strongly, repeatedly driving up to the oppositions try line, but failing to score due to some strong defence from Streatham. After a long period of being camped in the opposition half  we were finally rewarded with a penalty in front of the posts which Dan Lampert casually slotted between the posts giving us a 1 point lead at 15 -14. With the game this close tempers started to fray and a few minutes later a scuffle broke out between a number of players from both sides which resulted in a Streatham player being sin binned.

With the opposition a man down and only 10 minutes left on the clock Farnham should of sealed the game, but for a substitution made by the opposition bringing on a new player who proved to be a much stronger runner than we had faced so far and ran in two tries in the dying minutes, one of which was converted. With very little time left on the clock Farnham valiantly tried to respond, only to be disappointed at the final whistle.

Farnham played strongly throughout the game in what was a very close game for most part, only let down by a few missed tackles and a bit of poor handling, but when you consider the fact that most of our backs were forwards playing out of position everyone acquitted themselves well in the situation. If we could get close to a regular side in the 3rds we can only improve.

2nd/3rd XV 21st Nov ’09 Vs Barnes 4’s (away)
 
19 – 34

For this friendly away at Barnes on an international weekend we put together a composite team of the 2's and 3's with a bi of experience from the vets thrown in for good measure. As we'd only lost by 2 points when we played host to Barnes last month and were aggrieved by a few of the refs decisions on that encounter we felt we had a good chance to get a result.

From the kick off  Farnham were straight up in to the opposition half and seemed to be putting good pressure on the opposition until a long kick down field from Barnes bounced awkwardly  taking it away from the defenders and straight to the on rushing opposition gifting them with an early try. Seemingly shell shocked by this change in fortunes Farnham temporarily let their heads drop and a few missed tackles later Barnes scored again. Now 10 -0 down as neither try had been converted, Farnham fought back and after a passage of good play, Adam hailstones in the centres managed to find a gap a covering a fair distance ran in our first try under the posts. From this position Stuart Moore's conversion was a formality taking us to within 3 points. This unfortunately didn't last long as Barnes made another break and scored again before half time.

20-5 down at the start of the second half we knew the two converted tries would give us the lead and was well within our reach.  Our comeback quickly faltered as the opposition no.9 found a few gaps in our defence, which led to them scoring again. There than followed a long passage of strong play from Farnham and a few penalties against the opposition which found the visitors firmly encamped on the opposition 5 yard line but despite our best attempts Barnes defence held strong and finally managed to clear their lines.

A period of scrappy open play followed, but ended with Barnes again coming away with another 7 points. Farnham once again drove forward to the 5 yard line, but this time came away with the points as Adam Hailstones scored again. We managed to keep the pressure on for the rest of the half and were rewarded with another try as Adam completed his hat-trick. We played well throughout the game, with strong play in the forwards dominating the scrums although being a bit slow to a few of the break down.  The were some good runs from the backs especially new boy Harvey Hoyt-Bone. Overall everyone gave their full effort but, we were just let down by a few missed tackles and handling errors.

31st Oct ’09, Vs Barnes 4’s (home)
 
17 – 19

3RD XV match report:

27th Sept ’08, Vs Old Emanuels 3’s (home)
 
3 – 45

What should of been a fairly evenly matched game against Old Emanuels, but any chance of that was already gone before kick-off thanks to three no show's from our team, leaving us short-handed. Where we should of been starting the game with one sub on the bench we were left with only 13 on the pitch, having to drop 1 wing and a second row. The opposition sportingly dropped one player to the bench, but we were still left with a one man deficit.

Farnham started the game well and the first 5 -10 minutes were mostly played in the opposition half and even had an early chance for points with a penalty, which was unfortunately missed by Dan Beattie. We were then hit by another blow as Andy Glover's return from retirement was cut short as he went off with an ankle injury. Now reduced to 12 men Old Emanuels started to exploit the extra space and the overlap to run in a few tries. Farnham defended fiercely disrupting the opposition where possible and even managing to counter attack and coming close to scoring, most notably with a strong run from young Dane Greene.

By half time we were down quite a few points, but still determined to score and not give away anything to the opposition. The second half started the way first had ended with a brave defence by Farnham, but lacking the manpower to keep Old Emanuels out and the opposition kept the scoreboard steadily ticking over. In the final quarter of the game despite now having three players on the pitch carrying injuries but not willing to retire to the sidelines, we started driving into the opposition half determined to take something from the game. This resulted in a penalty in front of the post, which Andy Williamson effortlessly kicked, finally getting us on the scoreboard.

Farnham managed to keep up the pressure for the rest of the half getting another penalty opportunity, but with nothing to lose decided to kick for the corner and go for the try. Unfortunately despite our lineout having worked well for most of the game this one went awry and the opposition cleared there lines. The final whistle came with huge relief to our remaining 12 men and despite being shattered and bruised most were still able to produce a smile knowing they had played to their best and given their all.

Thanks to those who did play, with impressive debuts for the club by Ed Simpson and Chris Jenkins. The man of the match award for this game should probably be shared by Ant Bartrum and Dave Stent, who were both all over the pitch putting pressure on the opposition and disrupting them where possible. The scoreline really does not reflect the effort or performance of the Farnham players and with a full team the result could well have been completely different.

Andy Stent
Acting 3rd Team Captain.

Farnham 3xv vs Esher 6th away to Esher sat 3rd Oct kick of 1500 hrs
 

We traveled to our old rivals Esher and with a fairly strong team on paper we all thought that it was going to be any easy game on a sat afternoon for a friendly match. Well how wrong we were. Farnham warmed up well and went through some basics moves as there were some new and old faces in today's squad. Farnham won the toss and kicked of, but it was into the wind. It was clear to see that Esher were going to be good and strong, this was told with there backs breaking our defense and some poor tackling for them to score three tries within twenty Min's. Personally i thought that Farnham were not talking and tackling low so our heads were not in the first half. This reflected in the score line 46 - 0 to Esher.

After a stern talking to by Woody (Capt) we came out all guns blazing to play some passionate Rugby and to play for pride. Within ten Min's Rav Ravoila broke the Esher back line defense this was due to a pick up from Woody to draw two Esher players to create the opening, passing down the line and over. Keith Moore converted and we were on the score board. Several phases later and Goffy broke there defense again to score under the posts and with a conversion from Keith again gave us a 14 - 0 second half to Farnham.

The next five Min's or so our heads went down a bit to let Esher score (I think we were all blowing and tired) How ever chins up pick up your feet and Farnham got straight back into the game to play some champagne Rugby and string several good phases of play to break through allowing Rav to score but know conversion. Then came the moment of the game when Big Dan Greene stole the ball and passing to Dan Bettie who could not connect, so he used his feet to kick ball on and chase to finally score and convert givings us a score of 26 points.

With the final whistle gone the score line reflected only forty Min's of Rugby played by Farnham as we can safely say the first half was not to be. Esher 68 - Farnham 26, how ever Farnham won the second half !!!!

Lots of positiveness to expand on but come on thirds get down to Farnham for tackling practice, WE NEED IT!

Training Tues and Thurs we need to attend and build on our performance, but to all fifteen who turned up and played well done for a fantastic second half

For 2008/2009 match reports, please click here