Powerful performance in horrible conditions

The Hornets welcomed Old Wellingtonians to a pitch with lots of mud and quite a bit of standing water on it. As it had for the previous 48 hours, rain and sleet continued to fall as kick-off approached, and temperatures fell close to freezing.

Unfortunately the opposition were unable to field a full front-row (as was also the case in the away fixture), so the match would have uncontested scrums. Farnham received the kick off and went straight into attack mode.

Consistent rucking and ball carrying from the forwards gave the backs a solid platform to attack from. Scrum-half Tom O’Connell and fly-half Andrew Freshwater linked well, releasing the centres to strike the opposition midfield. Freshwater was also able to gain ground from using the boot, both from open play and from penalties.

Winger Rob Brown had several strong runs down the side-line, attacking his opposite man and making great yardage before Wellingtonians bundled him in to touch. Unfortunately on one run he managed to split his ear open and came off with a blood injury. Brown is becoming so well acquainted with the medical kit, rumours are that he tried to add it as a friend on Facebook!

Prop Lenny Jennings (a.k.a. the Quiet Assassin) made a powerful tackle in midfield, but was penalised by the referee for not wrapping his arms around the ball carrier. It could be imagined that Jennings would have wielded a battle axe had he been born a millennium earlier.

With no score after the first half hour, Farnham’s dominance looked as though it may come to nothing in the opening half. However, strong attacking play from prop Matt Kelleher started an attack. Kelleher ran all day with as though he’d been advised prior to the game that Wellingtonians had burgled his house. With the opposition on the back foot, the Hornets moved the ball left then right. Hulking number eight Craig Macey caught the ball in space on the wing and, although it took him some time to get to top speed, he charged 40 yards to score a try in the corner. Freshwater was unable to convert the difficult kick, but Farnham took the lead 5-0.

Freshwater was able to kick two penalties to take the lead to 11-0. The opposition had a spell of territorial dominance before the end of the half, pinning Farnham in their 22. As he had all day, Seb Murray dominated the front of the line-out. Time and again he kept possession for Farnham and won ball from the opposition, leaping like a salmon journeying back to it’s spawning ground. Hooker Dan Ross threw in consistently and made some strong catches kick-off, taking the hit and setting up the ruck from which the team could build.

Captain Tom Foster took a blow to the shoulder and came off at half time. This was a shame because he worked well in the tackled strongly and jumped well at the back of the lineout. Foster remained on the side line for the second half, cheering, encouraging and shivering in equal measure.

Taryke Van Rensburg, back from a hamstring injury sustained before Christmas, came on as substitute and ran some fantastic support lines. He made a good break down the right side of the pitch but was bundled into touch with a high tackle. On several other occasions Van Rensburg was unlucky not to receive the ball in space.

Henry Milas moved to the wing to make way for Ed Weeks at outside centre. Returning from injury, Weeks showed flair and speed with several line breaks, setting up several opportunities. One of these breaks would unleash Jack Miller to score as the game came to a close. Before that Farnham had some more work to do and Milas chased kicks very well on the wing. His wing play has clearly improved having spent more time in the centres.

Andy James had another dominant game in the centres, perfectly balancing running hard crash ball, with finesse and distribution. His hard work was rewarded with a try later in the game, throwing an exaggerated dummy to give him the space to run through.

As the ball was moved with frequent offloads in the opposition 22, Rob Brown seized on an opportunity. With the defence in disarray, he weaved past some would-be-tacklers and dropped over the line to add the Hornets’ total.

With time running out, Old Wellingtonians continued to battle. A break away on the left gave them a consolation try and their only score of the game. Ralph Philips captained for the second half and lead by example; tackling and ball carrying with power and controlled agression.

The game finished 28-5 to Farnham. A great result and a dominant performance against a team the Hornets lost against earlier in the season.

“The Hornet’s have started 2013 in excellent form and the team is getting better every weekend. There is competition for every shirt, and this will continue to push the standard up.“ raved coach Oli Richford

Next week the Hornet’s have a non-league home fixture against Sutton and Epsom.

By Oli Richford