Farnham retained their unenviable record in an away match against Camberley, but the final score of 34 - 5 does not reflect the contribution that Farnham made to the match. The game began with a minutes silence for Camberley stalwart Bill Fletcher, but right form the kick off Farnham showed that whilst being respectful they were not going to be a pushover during the game.

Camberley sustained some early pressure on the Farnham line, but Farnham responded superbly with some excellent defence, and as Camberley lost their self discipline Farnham made good use of the wind advantage to pin the home team back deep in their half. A break by scrum half Gareth Evans saw Camberley scramble to defend, and eventually several infringements led to Farnham being awarded a penalty within kicking range. Unfortunately Andy James missed with his attempt, but further Farnham pressure and Camberley indiscipline saw Farnham kick to within sight of the Camberley line. Farnham caught and drove the ball well, but somehow Camberley held out. Further Farnham pressure inside the home 22 saw Farnham awarded a penalty advantage which they tried to exploit positively, only for the referee to allow Camberley to steal the ball and run the length of the field to score, much to the dismay of the Farnham team and the referee’s mentor who was observing on the sidelines.

Once again this season Farnham were up against it, but their response was magnificent as Fran Meager initiated a break from inside the Farnham 22. Good handling and decision making gave Meager the chance to beat the initial defence before executing an intelligent kick ahead. The ensuing foot race saw the Camberley fullback just reach the ball first, but having taken it over the line Farnham were awarded the scrum put in. Although Camberley weathered the initial onslaught, continued Farnham pressure and re-cycling saw Nic Robertson kicking for the corner, and an excellent chase and pressure led to Andy James flopping over the line on the loose ball to put Farnham back in the game. Unfortunately James missed the conversion, and shortly afterwards a penalty attempt after the Farnham pack had superbly driven the ball some 30m, only to be pulled down cynically.

Farnham were playing some excellent rugby, involving forwards and backs linking several phases of play together, but as often happens when a team is down they received a massive blow when, after the Camberley three quarters had twice kicked out on the full only to get away with it, Camberley broke to score a converted try under the posts. Unbelievably Farnham were behind at the break, but they could feel justifiably proud of their first half performance.

The half time message was that Farnham should keep doing much of the same, whilst looking to tap and go as often as possible against the wind, and that they should avoid having any early drop off in the intensity of their play. Unfortunately that is exactly what happened, as following an excellent kick off Farnham pressurised the fly half who miscued a hasty clearance kick inside his own 22 straight to his winger who managed to elude the first up tackle and run the length to score a massively fortuitous try. As often happens with teams who have been losing, Farnham lost their shape and conceded a further try and penalty to trail by 5 points to 27, with much of the second half still to play. At this point Farnham brought on the veteran Vince Wiltshire and the youthful Karl Brown to provide fresh legs, and Farnham dominated possession and territory against the wind for much of the 2^nd half. Pleasingly Farnham linked phase after phase together, but lost the ball at crucial times due to a lack of quick support for the ball carrier. Despite having numerous opportunities in the Camberley 22, Farnham could not convert their pressure into points, and Camberley broke to score a final converted try from inside their own half.

Well done to all of the Farnham players for their performances, but the players need to realise that to get the rub of the green and to carry favour with the referee they need to get themselves fitter and learn how to be more cynical at the breakdown. Nevertheless, despite the results Farnham continue to develop, and with team spirit in adversity better times are just around the corner. All of the team were also keen to send out a special message to much valued forward James Franklin, who suffered a bad leg break in last week’s match against London South Africa: “Don’t eat all of the pies”!