Farnham travelled to Newbury for round 4 of the 23/24 season. Farnham came into the game unbeaten and full of confidence having done the double over Newbury last season. The hosts won their previous game against Andover after 2 close defeats to start their season and would be looking for some revenge against Farnham. Jack Bemelmans returned to the Farnham front row alongside Greg Franzel and Adam Pickett. Harrison Horner made his first appearance of the season in the row. Ollie Brown came in at 10 with Toby Salmon shifting to 12. Joe Wigmore and Joe Brockman were back in the side on the wings.
Newbury kicked off with the breeze behind them and started the better of the 2 sides. An early charge down kick applied some early pressure and although Farnham scrambled, it was an early warning. The Newbury packed contained some powerful carriers who got them over the gainline and a breakdown penalty gave them a chance to kick to the corner. Their rolling maul was stopped short however they kept it tight and their 2nd row barrelled over from close range for the first score. Conversion successful, 7-0. Farnham managed to get their hands on the ball and were looking dangerous from their first attack until some poor passing stopped their flow. A penalty just outside the 22 gave Farnham a chance to get on the board and Salmon kicked the penalty to make it 7-3. Farnham’s loose forwards were starting to impose themselves on the game with Jonny Vincent and Oscar Henderson making a serious of half breaks.
Jonny Vincent broke into the Newbury half before unfortunately loosing his footing. The ball was well recycled though and a half break from Jack Bemelmans got Farnham to within 5 meters. The attack had broken down slightly however the ball was moved to the left and Joe Wigmore somehow managed to beat 2 defenders and dot down in the corner for his first try of the season. Conversion successful and Farnham now lead 7-10. The restart went straight out giving Farnham ideal attacking position from a midfield scrum. A well executed backs move with good hands from Cowman and Salmon releasing Wigmore again down the left. He beat his man before chipping over the fullback and there was only going to be one winner in the race for the line and Wigmore dotted down for his 2nd try. Conversion was missed, 7-15 but Farnham had their tails up.
The defence was looking strong again with Josh Watson and Greg Franzel leading the heavy hits. Farnham had to stand a bit of pressure before half time and a slightly high tackle saw Oscar Henderson receive a yellow card. Farnham dealt with the remaining few minutes though and went into halftime with a 7-15 lead.
Farnham had to manage the next 7/8 minutes with 14 men and had the breeze behind them to pin Newbury. However minutes into the second half, Newbury were reduced to 14 when Benjy Biggs was hit late by the number 8 . Salmon missed the kick at goal however another penalty minutes later gave Farnham a chance to kick to the corner and use their rolling maul. The first drive seemed destined for the line before the Newbury 2nd row collapsed the maul just before the line. Somehow no penalty try was given however the player was given a yellow card, reducing Newbury to 13 men. Farnham went to their maul again and this time Jack Bemelmans powered over in the corner. Conversion missed, 7-20.
Farnham were now back to 15 and brought on Marco Azevedo and the returning Jack Haylett in the forwards who was his usual busy self at the breakdown. Ben Stevens came on for his Farnham debut at fullback for Sam Thomas. He made an almost an impact when Farnham again found themselves in the Newbury half. The attack was probing with Ollie Brown and Sam Cowman controlling proceedings well and when the ball was moved to the left, Ben Stevens beat his man round the outside and ran in under the posts for his first Farnham try. Conversion successful, 7-27.
The match seemed destined for one result however Farnham wanted to improve their score. A well executed backs move saw them break down the right hand side and despite initially losing the ball, quickly regained position. The attack was patient and the ball found Benjy Biggs on the left hand side who broke through and seemed destined for the try line before unfortunately an ankle tap stopped him short. However he regained his feet and offloaded to his fellow academy graduate Sam Cowman who ran under the posts for his first Farnham senior try. A nice moment for their previous coaches watching on. Conversion successful, 7-34. The game started to slow however it was Newbury who got the final score of the game when their 12 crashed in under the posts. A simple conversion followed as well as the full time whistle. 14-34.
A comfortable 5 points in the end for Farnham who had to battle through phases but their dominance prevailed. A week off gives the boys some rest before we welcome North Dorset on the 12th of October.
Presidents podium
3- Joe Wigmore
2- Jack Bemelmans
1- Jonny Vincent