Farnham welcomed Bracknell to Monkton Lane for round 2 of the 25/26 season. Farnham came into the game full of confidence after their bonus point win at Hammersmith whilst Bracknell were off the back of a late loss to Worthing and keen to get their season started. Farnham made just a couple of changes from last week with Marco Azevedo starting at loose head and captain Toby Salmon back in the team at fly half. The home team kicked off on a blustery afternoon and looked to make a quick start.

They did just that when Greg Franzel offloaded to Shawa Rai who showed great pace to break into the Bracknell 22. The ball was moved wide to the left with Oscar Henderson and Joe Wigmore combining well before being stopped 5 metres short. A few tight phases and then Toby Salmon found a hole in the Bracknell defence to dot down under the posts. 7-0 after 2 minutes. The dream start and it got even better minutes later when a loose Bracknell kick was collected by Ollie Brown who moved the ball to Ben Stevens. He half broke through a tackle before a sublime out the back offload found Jonny Vincent who charged into the Bracknell 22. The breakdown was quick and the ball found Toby Salmon who beat a couple of defenders and managed to power his way to the line for his 2nd try. Conversion successful, 14-0 after 5 minutes.

Bracknell had to respond and started putting some attacking phases together through their strong ball carriers. The Farnham defence was holding firm though with Shawa Rai and Matt Kouris making several dominant tackles. After 20 minutes, Bracknell got on the scoresheet when their fly half broke the line with some fine footwork and showed great pace to score next to the posts. Conversion successful, 14-7. The front row of Azevedo, Kouris and Franzel had the edge at scrum time and won a penalty 30 meters out. Farnham kicked to the corner and set up a driving maul that was executed perfectly resulting in Greg Franzel dotting down for his first score of the season. Conversion missed, 19-7. The heavens opened in the remaining minutes of the half which caused some handling errors however Farnham took the lead going into halftime and much the happier of the sides so far.

The rain had stopped with the sunshine now out for the 2nd half. Ball possession bounced back and forth for the first 5 minutes however for most of the 2nd half, it was Bracknell who had to ball. The Farnham defence had to withstand numerous big carries from the Bracknell pack however they didn’t break down the Farnham wall. This was typified by and outstanding try saving tackle by Ben Stevens and Max Williams to keep the 12 point lead. Bracknell continued to attack but on 60 minutes a loose pass was intercepted by Joe Wigmore who sprinted for the line. He was just stopped short but did well to keep the ball and recycle. Farnham were patient and Matt Kouris managed to power over for the bonus point try. Conversion successful, 26-7.

A sucker punch blow and against the run of play for sure however you can’t take away the effort of the Farnham defence. Sam Voight and Oscar Henderson lead the forwards well with centres Alex Young and Joey Wood putting in the hard work also. Harrison Horner put a thunderous hit on the Bracknell fly half with the balcony very much enjoying it. Sam Woodhams came on and made an immediate impact at scrum time winning a penalty. Harry West came on at scrum half and fellow substitute George Bellamy also on pitch and made a 40 meter break in the last minute to give Farnham a chance to finish on a high. The ball was moved to Max Williams whose kick in between just went out with the full time whistle shortly after. 26-7 full time.

A great win for Farnham and a dream start to their season with 2 bonus point wins. A clinical attacking display however the defence was outstanding with every player putting their body on the line. An away trip to local rivals Camberley awaits next week.

Presidents podium:
3- Greg Franzel
2- Joe Wood
1- Toby Salmon