Father Christmas arrived early in Petersfield this year, as the Farnham team turned up at Penns Place with a number of local children in tow.  For a number of years Farnham and Petersfield have contested some good league matches, with honours generally even, but on this occasion Petersfield thoroughly deserved their win, with the young Farnham team failing to realise that the start of the festive season did not mean you had to provide the opposition with free gifts! 

Once again during the warm up Farnham appeared to lack concentration and motivation, but they actually started the game superbly when they won their own kick off and maintained possession for a number of phases. Unfortunately this positive start was undone by the first in a constant string of penalties against Farnham, awarded by an excellent referee (this from the losing side!), and despite some good defence to stop a Petersfield maul, a missed tackle saw the first converted try of the game. Barely three minutes later and Petersfield had again crossed the try line for another converted try, and with only 10 minutes played it was already clear who was going to be the dominant team on the day.

Farnham conceded penalty after penalty during the first half, and failed to heed the advice of the referee, resulting in a further number of Petersfield tries. Too frequently Farnham fell back in defence allowing Petersfield to dictate the pace and pattern of play, and when Farnham did manage to lay hands on the Petersfield players, it was too high, enabling Petersfield to get well beyond the gain line, and consequently maintain their attack.

Finally with 33 unanswered points on the board, Farnham managed to scramble a try through the hard working Jon White, but further indiscipline and a lack of physicality saw Farnham concede a further two tries before half time to turn around 5 – 43 down.

The Farnham Coaches message at half time was pretty basic: turn up mentally, go forwards and tackle low, and cut out the number of penalties being conceded. With a number of supporters on the touchline it was also important that the players showed their commitment to the cause after such a horror show in the first half, and even if Petersfield lost their focus, Farnham did indeed raise their game for much of the second half.

Finally Franham appeared to have a little fire in their bellies, and they took the game to Petersfield. Not surprisingly Farnham found that when they went aggressively into the tackle they generally went forwards or came out with the ball, allowing them to create an attacking platform. Somewhat against the run of play Petersfield were awarded a penalty that they successfully converted, but despite the sin binning of Jon White for an almost high tackle, Farnham continued to have the lions share of possession, and should have made more of a number of promising situations. Towards the end of the match Petersfield scored a couple more breakaway tries to run out 61-5 winners.

Petersfield thoroughly enjoyed their win, with their openside flanker turning in an excellent performance, but Farnham will be disappointed with the nature of their defeat. At the start of play both these teams were close at the foot of the table, but this developing Farnham team need to wake up to the fact that mental application and a will to win  have the greatest impact on end result in this league, as shown by their improved second half performance.

With Christmas and New Year impacting on training before the next league game (away to Weybridge Vandals), it is essential that as many Farnham players (old & new) attend the various events taking place over the festive period. On Thursday (20^th) players, coaches, and supporters will be taking part in the Christmas Run into town, involving a 7pm meet at the club, followed by a run/walk/cycle into town with refreshments taken on route. Following this the annual Christmas match takes place at the club on Thursday 27^th December, with players meeting at 12pm for a 1pm kick off to win the Gollum cup. This match represents an ideal opportunity for both present and former players to get involved: please contact Mort 01252 718290 to register your availability.