Farnham Mercilessly Crush Old Ruts

A fresh and still afternoon with clear skies made conditions perfect for crisp backs play.

Farnham kicked off and opening exchanges were fairly scrappy. It wasn’t until fullback John Weldon expertly kicked the ball into space downfield, weighting it such that it bounced neatly inside the touchline before going out. Farnham then competed in the Old Ruts 22 but the ball was secured by them and hoofed upfield.

The strict refereeing on the day saw Farnham concede a penalty in midfield and this allowed the opposition to get territory in the visitors 22. The Hornets defended the lineout well and the forwards set-up a ruck from which fly-half Andrew Freshwater made a break (past his opposite man who looked very similar to former Farnham 3rd XV captain “Woody”), scything through the Old Ruts backline before getting an offload to supporting players Craig Macey, and then Paddy Vasey. Unfortunately the move came to nothing, but it boded well for things to come.

Old Ruts number 8 was a very large chap, and several times he picked up and ran with the ball from the back of the scrum. However great work from flankers Greg Mungall and in particular Richard Philips saw him tackled low again and again, not allowing him to get any momentum.

A passing move from the Farnham backs saw the ball travel wide, before coming back inside to fullback John Weldon who weaved a line and carved through the defence, drawing the fullback and setting up Freshwater for the opening score of the game. This was his first league try of the season, however he was unable to convert the conversion.

James Franklin soared in the lineout, especially on Old Ruts ball, winning ball back for the Hornets to counter-attack with. Further territory gains for Farnham saw them win a lineout in the opposition 22 and drive the ball onwards in a powerful maul. Craig Macey emerged from the pile of bodies with the ball down over the line, and Freshwater’s conversion took the score to 12-0.

Following a missed penalty kick at goal (one of the only chances for Old Ruts to score all game) the Hornets kept the pressure on. Matt “He’s too fast to be a prop” Kelleher made a majestic break, making 60 yards and splintering the defence. From the ruck he set, the ball was shipped wide and John Weldon rounded the defence to score under the posts.

The front row scrummaged superbly all day, with veteran Sid Cranstone leading the charge. Another fantastic maul from the forwards sucked in defenders and when the ball found Andy James in the centre, he powered through a gap and passed to the supporting Rob Brown. A successful conversion took the score to 24-0.

An up and under kick behind the opposition defence saw the winger go on a mazy run. After several tackles were missed, Paddy Vasey abruptly ended the break with crunching hit. Andy James then kicked for territory and Mark Baines chased well. Strong counter rucking forced a penalty and the ball was pinged into touch for a lineout. From the resulting catch and drive, James Franklin bundled over for another score. Freshwater converted to take the score to 31-0 as the half closed.

The second half was not as eventful; however Farnham had not finished scoring. Winger Jack Miller made an excellent interception and almost reached the line before being tackled. Replacement scrum half Tom O’Connell did the rest, sliding through the scrambling defence to take the scores to 36-0.

The rest of the half was punctuated by blazing runs on the left wing by Jack Miller, but none that were converted into points. Freshwater added another penalty to take his personal tally to 16 points on the day.

Late on, Greg Mungall was yellow carded for a contentious refereeing decision, and Morgan Rushton had to go off with a few minutes remaining with a cut to his eye-brow. Whilst the second half was not as strong as the first, Farnham still managed to maintain a resolute defence and prevented Old Ruts from scoring any points at all. A special mention should go to Matt Kelleher who dominated at prop and got man of the match, both for his strong attacking play and excellent tackling in defence.

This win moves the Hornets further up the league and another win against Old Mid-Whitgiftians next week would potentially put them third in the standings. This game is at home and the last before Christmas.

By Oli Richford