Farnham welcomed Bournemouth to Monkton Lane for the opener of the 24/25 season. Farnham handed 8 debutants in total with academy graduates Benjy Biggs and Sam Cowman amongst those. The starting pack had been bolstered by new props Adam Pickett and Greg Franzell with them being backed up by the powerful Sam Voight and the agile Shawa Rai. The backs consisted of last seasons regulars, Toby Salmon skippered the side at 10 with Fin Sloan, Toby Simmons and Max Williams in the starting team. Powerful centre Joe Wood and full back Tom Allen made their first appearances for the club.

Bournemouth kicked off in mild conditions and the season had officially started. Farnham started the game well and looked to install a fast paced energy to the game. Bournemouth who moved down into the league this season, got the first try of the game when they moved the ball wide of a turnover with their right winger beating 2 men to dive in the right corner. The conversion was missed but Farnham were behind early on. The reply though was almost instant with Farnham winning a penalty and opting to kick for the corner. The rolling maul was well organised and got Farnham to within touching distance of the line. The maul was brought short however Adam Pickett was onhand to power over from short range for his first Farnham try. Conservation was successful, 7-5 .

The game was evenly contested with both defences proving hard to break down. The Farnham forwards made their impact with Jack Bemelmans and Josh Watson providing powerful hits. The next Farnham chance came from turnover ball, the ball was moved wide to Toby Simmons who put in a chip and chase, hacking the ball towards the line before unfortunately knocking the ball on. Another break this time coming from Max Williams’s brilliant footwork got Farnham in behind. He offloaded to Sam Cowman on a good scrum half supporting line before Bournemouth were penalised at the breakdown. Salmon opted for the posts and chipped over an easy 3 points to make it 10-5. Bournemouth had the last chance of the half with a long range penalty however the kick just faded to the left of the posts and Farnham went in with a 10-5 lead.

Farnham kicked off the 2nd half and started well. Some good early phases got them close to the 22 and some smart play close to the ruck from Sam Voight allowed him to go through and offload to Sam Cowman who was stopped short by a high tackle. Bournemouth were reduced to 14 for 10 mins and Salmon opted again for the posts and extended the lead to 13-5. Farnham had their tails up and again broke through with some good interplay between Tommy Allen and Max Williams to get them 10 meters out. Jack Bemelmans was held just short of the line and then was penalised for double movement to relieve some pressure for Bournemouth.

Minutes later, they were awarded a penalty 45 meters out with their replacement kicker stepping and slotting it down the middle to reduce the score to 13-8. Another penalty to Farnham allowed them to kick to the corner and get their driving maul moving. It was again stopped short but after a few close phases, Greg Franzell was there drive over from a few yards out for his first Farnham try. Conversion successful, 20-8. Bournemouth now back to 15 men but Farnham were dominating territory and were awarded a penalty on the 22 with the decision again to go for the posts. The kick was successful to move the score to 23-8. Farnham were then reduced to 14 men as well after Josh Watson was adjudged in going slightly high in the tackle.

Bournemouth made use of the extra man with a try minutes later as they eventually broke down the Farnham defence to score on the right hand side. The conversion was missed with the score now 23-13. Bournemouth were dominating the ball and Farnham now feeling the effects of 14 men. Some loose kicking opened up the play with Bournemouth looking to go wide through their forwards. A loose pass though was picked off by Toby Salmon who scampered clear from 60 meters, just evading the cover defence to dot down in the right hand corner. The conversation was successful with Farnham now leading 30-13.

Impact subs Marco Azevedo, Marcus Lambert-Parsons and Joe Brockman entered the game and looking to make a difference. Farnham were back to 15 men however not for long when a high tackle from Tommy Allen earned him a yellow card meaning he was on the sideline for the remaining 10 minutes. Despite this, Farnham’s defence continued to be tough to breakdown with Bournemouth having the patient to wait for their chance. Some good hands got them through with their number 8 powering over for their 3rd try. Conversion successful, 30-20. Farnham saw out the remaining few minutes and almost had a chance to grab a 4th and bonus point try but a not straight at the lineout allowed for the FT whistle. 30-20.

A good win to start the season with Farnham controlling the game well and were resilient in defence. An away trip to local rivals Guildford awaits next week which will no doubt be another tough test.

Presidents podium:
3- Toby Salmon
2- Shawa Rai
1- Josh Watson