The start of the 25/26 rugby season had finally arrived with Farnham playing a club high, level 5. A trip to Hammersmith & Fulham was the curtain raiser on a sunny yet windy afternoon. The squad looked fairly familiar from last season with Alex Young the only debutant in an otherwise experienced team.

Hammersmith & Fulham kicked off to start the game although the nerves clearly got to the hosts fly half who barely made contact with the ball so a midfield scrum to Farnham followed. Farnham started the game well with some early inroads however the lineout wasn’t quite functioning and Hammersmith were determined to run it out playing into the wind. Despite the visitors good start, it was the hosts who got the first score when a box kick wasn’t gathered and fell favourley to the left winger who just about had the legs to sprint clear and touch down in the corner. Conversion successful, 7-0. The home team quickly extended their lead when a good exit gave them field position and they capitalised on some poor defending with their right winger sprinting clear to dot down for their 2nd try. Conversion missed, 12-0.

Farnham continued to look threatening in attack with Joe Wigmore beating his man on numerous occasions. Alex Young and Joey Wood looked dangerous in the centres with halfback duo Ollie Brown and Harry West controlling the tempo effectively. Hammersmith with resilient in defence however Farnham eventually broke them down with Max Williams doing well to collect a low pass and finish off in the corner. Ben Stevens converted well, 12-7. This would start a 10 minute blitz before halftime that proved to be crucial. Alex Young made the initial break of the scrum before the ball was recycled and moved wide through the hands. Max Williams involved again and offloaded inside to Joey Wood who showed smart football skills to finish well in the corner. Conversion again successful, 12-14. Farnham cleared their lines with Hammersmith’s backfield in disarray and couldn’t gather the ball. Max Williams and Joey Wood kicked behind and a knock on presented Farnham with another great opportunity. The scrum was powerful all game with the front three of Woodhams, Kouris and Franzel proving a handful. Oscar Henderson controlled it well from the base and dived over for Farnham’s 3rd try. Conversion missed, 12-19. Halftime followed minutes later and the visitors went in with a deserved lead.

Farnham looked to continue their momentum into the 2nd half but faced a challenge playing into a stiff breeze. They were howerver running Hammersmith of their feet with a mixture of slick offloading and positive carries. They did get the first score of the 2nd half when Jonny Vincent managed to ride two tacklers before offloading to Joe Wigmore who showed his lethal finishing skills by beating the covering defence and scoring Farnham’s bonus point try. Conversion missed, 12-24. Marco Azevedo and George Bellamy came on to bolster the pack as the lineout continued to be a lottery but the scrum going Farnham’s way.

An attacking scrum for Hammersmith got them back in the game when a brilliant offload from the outside centre released the fullback down the wing who managed to flick his pass back infield to the left winger who finished off in the corner. Conversion missed, 17-24. Farnham kicked long and looked to ping in the home team. An injury to Joe Wigmore meant a slight backlike reshuffle with Toby Salmon coming on at 15 with Ben Stevens moving to the wing. The game was finely balanced with Farnham wanting another score to give them some breathing room. The ball was turned over in the 22 with Farnham looking to break out. A wide pass from Jonny Vincent found Ben Stevens who broke down the wing and gave it back inside to Vincent. He was stopped 40 meters out however the ball was moved wide to Sam Voight then Toby Salmon who put in the striding Oscar Henderson for his 2nd try of the match. Missed conversion but an end to end score, 17-29.

Hammersmith refused to back down though and Farnham were reduced to 14 men when Max Williams was harshly shown a yellow card. The home team had to attack from everywhere and the Farnham defence were working tiredly to keep them out. With 5 minutes remaining, a well executed driving maul secured the home team a losing bonus point and got them to within a score. Conversion successful, 24-29. The remaining minutes were spent defending as Hammersmith threw everything to try snatch a win. The Farnham defence stood strong though and forced a knock on to secure their first win of the season.

A great bonus point victory to kickstart their campaign and a local derby against Bracknell awaits as they visit Monkton lane. A huge thanks to the travelling support yesterday who were brilliant for the whole game.

Presidents podium:
3- Alex Young
2- Ollie Brown
1- Joey Wood