Merton 2nd XV 28 - 19 Farnham 2s

With some players resting injuries, this gave others the opportunity to stake a claim for a position and it was also an opportunity to blood a number of third team players that have shown commitment at training and impressed in recent weeks.

The Hornets started well enough but the unfamiliarity was obvious in the Farnham line. This resulted in a stop start game, and it was hard for both sides to maintain any rhythm but Merton were first to score when, through miscommunication, Farnham misses a key tackle and the hosts were under the posts. Ten minutes played and the score stood at 7-0.

Farnham responded quickly and within minutes had a try themselves when a lineout close to the opposition 22m was stolen by Steve Clark. The ball was quickly passed to Matt Kelleher who still had a lot of work to do but managed to cross in the corner, a fantastic touchline conversion by Ollie Van Dongen levelled the scores, 7-7.

After all that excitement, the game settled back down until Farnham’s forwards created a turnover ball in midfield. The pack then generated momentum through a number of strong carries before releasing the ball down the back line for Mark Baines to score out wide. Another good conversion by Van Dongen made it 7-14. The Hornets relaxed a little but, with over 55 minutes left to play, there was still a long way to go.

Against the run of play, Merton equalised on the half hour mark when, for some inexplicable reason, the entire Farnham defence switched off and turned their backs to walk back the required 10 metres when they conceded a penalty 30m out. Not surprisingly, Merton took a quick tap and were under the posts with barely a hand being laid on their player, 14-14.

The second half continued in much the same vein, Farnham defended resolutely and looked dangerous in attack but Merton were by no means giving up and looked to attack at every opportunity. Within ten minutes of the restart, the Hornets once again claimed the lead when some simple running and passing saw Kelleher over for his second of the day, 14-19. Farnham were hoping to push on but were undone within a minute when some suicide passing in the 22m saw the ball spill loose and the opposition pounced to score, 21-19.

Merton, to their credit, took their chances and were quickly back on the attack with wave after wave of eager ball carriers running at the Farnham defence. Eventually the defence broke when some tired bodies started to miss tackles and the lead was extended to 28-19. With 20 minutes left to play there was still time for the visitors to get back in the game but Merton were equal to all that Farnham could throw at them. Merton thought they had extended the lead at the end when their winger was tackled short only to concede a penalty as he rolled and crawled his way over the line. With a minute left to play the game fizzled out and the final score stood at 28-19.

Individually Farnham had a very good game, unfortunately for them, Merton were a better team. A fair result on the day but the win wasn’t the main objective for Farnham in the context of the season ahead. A number of players have enhanced their standing in the team, new faces have stepped in and the 3s players also accounted themselves very well. All in all, it makes for a very interesting selection ahead of next weekend’s league game away at Old Georgians, 2.30 kick off.