Farnham 1st XV v Old Paulines Saturday 10th November 2007
This was a must win game for both sides, as prior to the start of the match neither team had acquired any points in the league this season, but it was Old Paulines who deservedly triumphed at the end of the day.
Farnham began the game with high hopes of achieving their first win of the season, having thumped Old Paulines on their own ground at the end of last year, and playing with the wind at their backs in the first half, the team seemed well up to deliver a repeat performance. The game plan for this half was simple, with the team told to play for territory and then to apply pressure in the opposition 22, but unfortunately things did not go entirely to plan, with some over elaborate back play resulting in Farnham finding themselves too often in the wrong parts of the field.
Worse was to follow, as Farnham conceded a soft try under the posts, with some poor first up tackling again to blame. To their credit, the Farnham team responded well to this setback with Alex kicking a penalty after sustained Farnham pressure, and then narrowly missing with a second attempt. James Franklin was carrying the ball strongly from the base of a solid scrum, and Farnham enjoyed periods of sustained pressure, but could not add to their score.
At 3-7 down at half time, the message was that Farnham were in the game and needed to get their forward runners more into the game, get quicker to the breakdown, and ensure that every first up tackle was nailed. Straight from the kick off Farnham appeared not to have heard the coaches message, when they allowed the ball to bounce dangerously before tidying up, but this provided a spark for the team to step up. Big Chris Cotton and Eric Gregory were prominent in the loose with some excellent counter rucking, but when Farnham scored a try it came from a lung busting length of the field run after debutant Dave Teacher had intercepted an Old Paulines pass inside the Farnham 22.
Farnham now led 8-7 and chose this moment to replace veteran Karl Brown and Chris Dury with fresh legs to give the team renewed impetus. Unfortunately the substitution backfired as Farnham lost two of their main communicators, and Old Paulines were quick to capitalise on some poor organisation and missed tackles, to put the game out of Farnham’s reach. As the soreboard ticked over the game finished on an unsavoury note after a punch from the Old Paulines winger led to a mele involving a number of players, and whilst not condoning the actions of the winger, the new coaching set up at Farnham will not tolerate the indiscipline showed and expect Farnham players to uphold the traditions and etiquette that makes rugby the game that it is.
This was a massively disappointing result for Farnham as they attempt to rebuild, but Old Paulines fully deserved their win. It is sometimes difficult to take positives when you are consistently losing, but this is a young and much changed Farnham team who will benefit from the experiences gained this year, and with excellent numbers training and a positive spirit, a little self belief will see the performances start to come together. The club can also take positives from the fact that Old Paulines were unable to field a team for the 2nd XV fixture at Farnham, and from the thumping that Andy Williamson’s 3rd XV handed out to Battersea Ironsides in their merit game.
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