Academy show strength in narrow loss

A minutes silence was held before the game to commemorate remembrance Sunday.

Farnham started the game on the front foot but it wasn’t long before expert kicking from the Guildford fly half put them into a dominant territorial position. Poor discipline from Farnham allowed Guildford to pin them down within their 22. The lineout has been a strong point for Farnham for the most part this season; however Guildford were strong in this area too. Some well organised maul work from a line-out saw Guildford slowly march forward and score the opening try of the game.

The Farnham scrum was under pressure throughout the first half and the backs struggled to get any go forward. The handling was disjointed and despite occasional line breaks from Henry Milas and Andrew Freshwater, the back line could not finish anything that the forwards set-up.

Ten minutes later Farnham found themselves on their try line again defending a tap and go penalty by Guildford. Despite being the smallest player on the pitch, scrum half Ollie Brown heroically threw himself in front of the charging opposition number 8 and brought him down before the line. Guildford continued to convert their chances and soon went further ahead after the number 8 picked up and dived over from the back of the scrum that had started 5 metres out.

Before half time, Captain Oli Richford darted through a gap and attempted to side step the covering winger. Unfortunately a recurrence of a knee injury stopped him in his tracks and ended his match right there.

A raft of changes took place at half time and the Hornets went out with renewed energy. Strong attacking play from Harry Drummond and Connor Rumpson saw Farnham benefit from the wide pitch.

Ollie Brown counter attacked after picking up loose ball from a lineout. Running around the chasing pack, he then grubber kicked the ball through the defence and ran through, assisted by Connor Rumpson. The covering fullback was tackled and turned over and Greg Mungall powered over the line. Half tackled and not guaranteed to get the ball down in the in-goal area, Paddy Vasey assisted by tackling both players to the floor, and confirming the try was scored.

As the half progressed a second try in two weeks was scored by Academy Award Winner Will Cameron-Lewis, hotfooting it down the touchline, having previously been denied when a pass didn’t make it down the line in time. Guildford kept the score line ticking along with a further try and two penalties. Connor Rumpson had converted Cameron-Lewis’s try and then went on the rampage himself, using his long limbs to run elusively through the gaps in the opposition defence, and converting his own effort too.

The fact that all of the points for the Hornets were scored by recent graduates of the academy, shows the strength coming through the club from the excellent youth system in Farnham. Ollie Brown was awarded man of the match for a great display in attack and defence. The final score was Farnham 19, Guildford 24.

Farnham will be looking forward to their next league game against Bec Old Boys on the 24th of November.
By Oli Richford