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1st XV
Matches
Sat 01 Feb 2025  ·  Regional 2 South Central
Chichester
12
15
Farnham R.U.F.C.
1st XV
Under par Farnham escape Chichester with a narrow win!

Under par Farnham escape Chichester with a narrow win!

Toby Salmon3 Feb - 09:21

A win is a win

Farnham travelled down to Chichester on a chilly Saturday afternoon, looking to keep their unbeaten streak going. After the heavy rain over the last week, the pitch was soft and clunky in many parts but credit to the Chichester groundsman for getting the game on. Farnham rung the changes with several players either injured or away. The front five was fairly familiar but with Shawa Rai away and Oscar Henderson out injured, Jack Buxton and George Bellamy took their respective spots. The backline had 1 change from last week with Reece Stennett in for the ill Joe Wigmore and with Farnham losing the toss, they had to play uphill for the first half.

Chichester started the game as the better side, getting their hands on the ball early and making several inroads. The Sussex referee was hot at the breakdown and on the offside line with Farnham giving away 5 penalties in the first 10 minutes of the game. Although they repelled the initial attacks, Farnham couldn’t get into the game and were scrambling in defence. The deadlock was broken after 15 minutes when Chichester moved the ball to the right hand side and with the ball being knocked back by Farnham onto the try line, the winger dived on the ball for the first try. Conversion successful, 7-0. Some stern words behind the posts with Farnham far from their best and needing to get started in the game.

Once they got their hands on the ball, they started showing why they were top of the league. A well executed line out move saw them break down the left through Ben Stevens who got his hands free to find a charging Reece Stennett. He broke into the 22 however a good covering tackle by the Chichester 15, saw Stennett put into touch 10 meters short. Farnham stayed in the Chichester half and continued to apply more pressure. A series of phases gave Farnham a penalty and they kicked to the corner. The initial maul was held short but Farnham showed good patience and kept it tight to allow Harrison Horner to bundle over for his first score of the season. The conversion was missed and the half time whistle was blown. 7-5.

Despite the poor first half performance, Farnham found themselves only slightly trailing and now playing down the hill. The mistakes continued into the 2nd half with ill discipline and handling errors costing Farnham. Chichester pinned Farnham back and found themselves in the 22. They kept it tight and used their dynamic number 8 well who powered through several tackles and was charging towards the line however several Farnham defenders managed to hold him up over the line. Changes were needed and on came Fin Sloan and the returning Tom Dullage to add some much needed impact.

A scrum to Chichester on the halfway line gave them a good attacking opportunity but the ball was spilled in the backline. Farnham scooped up the loose ball and it was moved wide to Ben Stevens who beat the winger and chipped over the fullback. The Farnham speedster won the race to the line and dotted down for Farnham’s second score. Conversion successful, 7-12. Ollie Banks-Thompson also came on and great to see him in a Farnham shirt again. Farnham wanted to build of this momentum with Jonny Vincent and Sam Voight now making inroads but again the ball was coughed up moments later.

Chichester knew they were still in the game and continued to throw everything at Farnham. Fin Sloan was showed a yellow card for an apparent neck roll and Chichester replied almost instantly. A well executed chip in behind the Farnham defence bounced towards the line with their number 8 winning the race to dot down. The conversion drifted wide but the score now 12-12 with 7 minutes remaining. Farnham had to rally and found themselves in the Chichester half. A lineout 30 meters out gave them a good platform and their rolling maul saw them charging for the line before a side entry gave them a penalty 20 metres out, on the 15. Toby Salmon opted for the posts and slotted the penalty to regain the lead. 12-15 with 3 minutes to go.

Farnham cleared their lines from the restart and although Chichester were awarded a penalty at the final play in their own half, they deciding to take the losing bonus point and kicked the ball out of play. A nervous win for Farnham who were far below their best but still managed to secure the win. A rest weekend next week before we welcome Wimborne to Monkton Lane.

Presidents podium:
3- Ben Stevens
2- Jonny Vincent
1- Joe Wood

Match details

Match date

Sat 01 Feb 2025

Kickoff

14:00

Competition

Regional 2 South Central

League position

1
Farnham
10
Chichester
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Principal Partner - Saltus
Club Partner - Natta
Shirt Sponsor - Specific Interiors
Sponsor - Savills