A game of two halves delivers the points

Farnham welcomed Chichester to Monkton Lane on a sunny Saturday afternoon and a great day for rugby. Farnham began the day in 8th place with Chichester one place below in the table. After a 100-strong supporters’ lunch, the Faithful looked forward to a close game.
The Remembrance Day silence observed, Chichester kicked off. Their chaser knocked the ball on into the hands of Toby Salmon. He burst through the chasing pack and galloped up the far touchline. After beating a couple of defenders, he was brought down by the cover defence just inside the Chichester 22. The ball was quickly recycled to Ollie Brown who found Ben Jones. He spotted the narrow Chichester defence and fizzed a miss pass to Alex Chalker who finished the move off in the corner. Conversion successful and the dream start for Farnham!
Chichester were next on the scoreboard as a breakdown infringement allowed for a simple penalty kick 7-3. Chichester then infringed at the restart and Farnham kicked to the corner to give the forwards an opportunity to display their prowess at the rolling maul. The ball was recycled out to the backs who built the phases. Line-threatening carries from Marco Azevedo and Jonny Vincent tied in the Chichester defence allowing Ben Jones to slide in for Farnham’s 2nd try. Conversion successful. 14-3 inside 10 minutes.
After a blistering start by Farnham, the game settled with both teams kicking for territory. Farnham’s defence held strong led by the young duo of Archie Cleeve and Marcus Lambert-Parson. The latter was particularly impressive with regular “chop” tackles. A Chichester lineout inside Farnham’s half gave them a good position to attack. This was halted when Toby Salmon ripped the ball out of the tackle and hoofed the ball downfield only for it to bounce into the Chichester 22 so giving Farnham the attacking line out.
This area of the game worked well all afternoon thanks to the accuracy of hooker Jules Joris. Another penalty put Farnham five meters out and, although the maul stopping short, Marcus Lambert-Parsons powered over in the corner. Conversion successful, 21-3. Shortly after the restart, Chichester were awarded a penalty which they gratefully took to reduce the lead to 21-6.
A series of penalties cost Farnham field position and Chichester used their strong set piece to apply the pressure. This was well resisted by the front row of Azevedo, Joris and Sweeney who held their own in the scrum. Matt Chapman and Miki Mizzi also had strong performances on the fringes.
Chichester had the ball just outside of Farnham’s 22 and, with a penalty advantage, put in an accurate cross field kick which found their winger charging in to score in the corner. Conversion missed but the lead narrowed to 21-11.
Farnham hit straight back with several carries bringing them close to the line. The ball was then spun inside for Ben Jones to fizz another accurate pass to find Archie Cleeve who managed to dive over next to the posts for Farnham’s bonus point try. Conversion successful and the score now 28-11.
Only a few minutes left in the first half as Farnham cleared their lines from the restart, but the Chichester full back spilled the ball from the clearance kick. Callum Jones pounced and the ball went wide to Nathan Phillimore who was stopped ten meters out. Farnham again were patient in attack and took ground and created space with good interplay between backs and forwards. Jones and Vincent spotted space on the narrow side and put the ball through hands to Mike Mizzi who scored out wide. Another good conversion and the half time whistle blew on 35-11.
Farnham restarted the second half looking to build on a positive first forty. However, their good intentions were undone by some ill-discipline. The penalty count was beginning to rise. The referee eventually lost patience and gave Marco Azevedo 10 minutes in the bin. Oscar Henderson joined the fray after several weeks out injured but made an instant impact with his usual breakdown work and strong carries. Farnham defended well with 14 men with notable big tackles coming from Callum Jones and Archie Cleeve. On many occasions Chichester tried to power over from close range but Farnham kept knocking them back. It was a trademark Oscar Henderson turnover that relieved the pressure.
Farnham came back to 15 men on the pitch with Jemi Akin-Olugbade providing fresh legs for the front row and 18-year-old Finlay Sloan on at full back for his 1st XV debut. Farnham’s best chance to score in the half came when Marcus Lambert-Parsons charged down a box kick but unfortunately lost his footing racing to the ball. Chichester refused to lie down and after a cynical penalty, Dan Sweeney was given 10 minutes in the bin. Once again though, Farnham stood up in defence and controlled the clock well to see out the game. Despite a scoreless 2nd half, Farnham can be proud of an outstanding defensive performance especially from the younger players.
“This was a much needed 5 points and richly deserved against a tough team,” said skipper Toby Salmon. “Next week we’re over the Hogs Back to Guildford for a mid-table derby that will be packed with passion, and, no doubt, some great rugby.”
The President’s Podium voted for by the players: Marcus Lambert-Parsons 3, Mike Mizzi 2, Archie Cleeve 1.