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Sat 25 Nov 2023 · Regional 2 South Central
Tottonians
1st XV
45
31
Young guns secure another bonus point.
Mark Weeks27 Nov 2023 - 14:19
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"A gutsy performance"
Farnham travelled to Tottonians for the rearranged fixture from Round 8 fielding a young team with several senior players missing through injury. 10 of the 18-man squad were aged 22 or under. The front row of Dan Sweeney, George Haylett and Jeff Leybourne are all under the age of 20. Josh Watson returned to the side to offer some needed experience. Ollie Brown shifted from scrum half to 10 and captained the side. Ben Jones moved to full-back.
Farnham received the kick off with a gentle breeze behind them and used long-range kicks to pin Tottonians back. The game was evenly match for the opening five mins before the home side grabbed the first score when one of their “heavies” spotted a space around the ruck to breakthrough before offloading to the scrum half to score under the posts. 7-0.
Farnham bounced back well with some good attacking phases. Big carries from Harrison Horner and Finn Basil gave the Black and Whites momentum and good field position in the opposition 22. The phases began to build when the ball was released to the backs with Ollie Brown finding Max Williams who stepped inside to score under the posts. 7-7. The perfect response from the visitors.
The game was finely balanced at this point with both sides battling for territory off the boot and waiting for the opposition to make a mistake. Tottonians balanced their attack well with a powerful pack giving their agile backline front-foot ball. Their next score came off a well-executed backs play that saw both wingers link up to score next to the posts. Conversion successful. A few minutes later and again some good interplay saw another line break and after a few offloads, Tottonians left winger finished well in the corner. Conversion was good and the score was 21-7.
Farnham didn’t panic and continued to play in the right areas. Centres Fin Sloan and Chris Durringer made line busting carries which created great space for the exciting wing combination of Max Williams and Toby Simmons. A penalty 35 meters out presented Farnham a chance to narrow the gap and Ben Jones - who stepped up to kick off the tee for the afternoon - slotted it over to reduce the score to 21-10. Farnham again exited well and had the ball in the Tottonians half in a great attacking position. A half break from Ollie Brown and an offload to Chris Durringer put Farnham in behind but the final pass didn’t go to hand. Tottonians picked up the loose ball and broke clear with their centre scampering over for the home team’s bonus point try. 28-10 and half time.
Coming into the second half, Farnham still felt right in the game and got their hands on the ball early. Jemi Akin-Olugbade and Finn Anderson were both on and both carried with great purpose as is their wont.
A penalty 30 meters out allowed Tottonians to extend their lead to 31-10. However, Farnham came straight back and strung together slick phases across the pitch that tested the fitness of the big Totts pack. Eventually, Josh Watson broke the gain line and the ball was swiftly recycled to the pack where Ollie Brown found a gap in the defence and scurried through to dot down under the posts. Conversion successful 31-17.
Nathan Phillimore came on at full back and was immediately in action making a try saving tackle on the opposition wing and bundling him into touch. Unfortunately, Farnham could not exit their lines and, off a powerful scrum, Tottonians went over for their next score. 38-17 with 20 minutes to go.
Undaunted, this youthful Farnham side kept the pace of the game high and continued to threaten. Harrison Horner got Farnham close to the line and as the balled spilled out of the tackle, Marcus Lambert-Parsons was on hand to dive over for the score. Conversion successful 38-24.
To their credit Tottonians managed the game well during the closing stages and relied on their large forwards to grind down the Farnham defence. A close-range score from the replacement prop put the game beyond the visitor’s reach at 45-24. But Farnham were determined not to leave the New Forest empty handed. The team showed great patience with forwards and backs linking up well. The pressure finally told on the Tottonians defence with Ben Jones slicing through before releasing Finn Basil who handed off the cover defence to score that important try bonus point. So far this season the team has accumulated 13 try/losing bonus points. Conversion was good to make the final score 45-31.
President’s Podium voted for by the players: Harrison Horner- 3, Finn Basil-2, Max Williams-1
“This was a gutsy effort from this youthful team who showed great character throughout and brilliant determination to get the try bonus point,” commented team skipper Toby Salmon who watched the game from the touchline following last week’s injury.
That bonus point, and other results, puts Farnham mid-table in 6th place. Next Saturday they welcome Salisbury to Monkton Lane in another inaugural league encounter. KO 2.00pm and all support is welcome.
Farnham received the kick off with a gentle breeze behind them and used long-range kicks to pin Tottonians back. The game was evenly match for the opening five mins before the home side grabbed the first score when one of their “heavies” spotted a space around the ruck to breakthrough before offloading to the scrum half to score under the posts. 7-0.
Farnham bounced back well with some good attacking phases. Big carries from Harrison Horner and Finn Basil gave the Black and Whites momentum and good field position in the opposition 22. The phases began to build when the ball was released to the backs with Ollie Brown finding Max Williams who stepped inside to score under the posts. 7-7. The perfect response from the visitors.
The game was finely balanced at this point with both sides battling for territory off the boot and waiting for the opposition to make a mistake. Tottonians balanced their attack well with a powerful pack giving their agile backline front-foot ball. Their next score came off a well-executed backs play that saw both wingers link up to score next to the posts. Conversion successful. A few minutes later and again some good interplay saw another line break and after a few offloads, Tottonians left winger finished well in the corner. Conversion was good and the score was 21-7.
Farnham didn’t panic and continued to play in the right areas. Centres Fin Sloan and Chris Durringer made line busting carries which created great space for the exciting wing combination of Max Williams and Toby Simmons. A penalty 35 meters out presented Farnham a chance to narrow the gap and Ben Jones - who stepped up to kick off the tee for the afternoon - slotted it over to reduce the score to 21-10. Farnham again exited well and had the ball in the Tottonians half in a great attacking position. A half break from Ollie Brown and an offload to Chris Durringer put Farnham in behind but the final pass didn’t go to hand. Tottonians picked up the loose ball and broke clear with their centre scampering over for the home team’s bonus point try. 28-10 and half time.
Coming into the second half, Farnham still felt right in the game and got their hands on the ball early. Jemi Akin-Olugbade and Finn Anderson were both on and both carried with great purpose as is their wont.
A penalty 30 meters out allowed Tottonians to extend their lead to 31-10. However, Farnham came straight back and strung together slick phases across the pitch that tested the fitness of the big Totts pack. Eventually, Josh Watson broke the gain line and the ball was swiftly recycled to the pack where Ollie Brown found a gap in the defence and scurried through to dot down under the posts. Conversion successful 31-17.
Nathan Phillimore came on at full back and was immediately in action making a try saving tackle on the opposition wing and bundling him into touch. Unfortunately, Farnham could not exit their lines and, off a powerful scrum, Tottonians went over for their next score. 38-17 with 20 minutes to go.
Undaunted, this youthful Farnham side kept the pace of the game high and continued to threaten. Harrison Horner got Farnham close to the line and as the balled spilled out of the tackle, Marcus Lambert-Parsons was on hand to dive over for the score. Conversion successful 38-24.
To their credit Tottonians managed the game well during the closing stages and relied on their large forwards to grind down the Farnham defence. A close-range score from the replacement prop put the game beyond the visitor’s reach at 45-24. But Farnham were determined not to leave the New Forest empty handed. The team showed great patience with forwards and backs linking up well. The pressure finally told on the Tottonians defence with Ben Jones slicing through before releasing Finn Basil who handed off the cover defence to score that important try bonus point. So far this season the team has accumulated 13 try/losing bonus points. Conversion was good to make the final score 45-31.
President’s Podium voted for by the players: Harrison Horner- 3, Finn Basil-2, Max Williams-1
“This was a gutsy effort from this youthful team who showed great character throughout and brilliant determination to get the try bonus point,” commented team skipper Toby Salmon who watched the game from the touchline following last week’s injury.
That bonus point, and other results, puts Farnham mid-table in 6th place. Next Saturday they welcome Salisbury to Monkton Lane in another inaugural league encounter. KO 2.00pm and all support is welcome.
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