Our 1XV Match Reports kindly produced and written by Jon Hood
Saturday 6th September - Wymondham 51 Chelmsford 14
Wymondham have made a fine start to the season, unbeaten in two pre-season trial matches and hoped to continue this form into their league campaign against an experienced Chelmsford side. With twelve of the starting squad coming through their junior ranks it was one of these former youth players, hooker George Wadham aka “the flying mullet”, who lit up the first half with his work rate, tackling and three excellent tries.
Playing into a gusty wind Wymondham soon found themselves a try down as the sizeable visiting pack drove over from close range following a bungled home line out. Despite this early setback Wymondham hit back within five minutes, Wadham popping up in the centres and bisecting the defence to storm over from the 22. From the kick off Wadham got his second, again appearing in the back line following a rampaging run from his 22 by the all action openside Newson and carried on by his fellow back rowers Rodger and Girdler. Wymondham’s forwards were putting in a workmanlike shift, with the front five ensuring their opponents had little possession to use with the elements in their favour. The third try came following a series of midfield rucks with young centre Graves executing a neat show and go to wrong foot his opponent before shooting up the touchline and feeding the supporting Bradley to touch down under the sticks. The next was the result of pressure on the Chelmsford ball carrier, forcing a dropped pass pounced on by the master scavenger Mustard who motored home untouched from his own half. Wadhams third came after a typically rumbustious run by Bradley was continued by Foley and Airdrie deep into enemy territory. A series of quick rucks later and Delany’s hard flat pass picked out Newson who tipped on to The Mullet for his third.
Half time 29 - 7
Despite having the second half wind advantage the red and blacks stuck to the game plan that had served them well up to now and they soon added to their total. After a series of percussive drives from Camera, Boggan and Miller a penalty was awarded and the resulting line out was driven forward with Rodger getting the touch down. Chelmsford were far from finished and a try from their pacey winger showed what they could have done if given the opportunity. But Wymondham were in no mood to entertain a comeback and they were soon back on the scoresheet with Bradley taking the inside scoring pass from winger Foley following a slick three-quarters move from a scrum. The final try followed an arcing run from replacement Blyth with Stace’s intelligent pass putting Foley in at the corner. Delaney added four conversions and a penalty.
There is no time to rest on their laurels with league action now coming thick and fast. Rochford are the next visitors to Barnard Fields, a team Wymondham beat at their ground in the final play of the game last season and who will surely be well motivated to try and exact their revenge.
TEAM
1 Chris Miller
2 George Wadham
3 Jamie Boggan
4 Henry Charlton
5 John Camara
6 Chris Rodger
7 Harry Newson
8 Jake Girdler
9 Auden Airdrie
10 Charlie Delaney,
11 Elliott Foley
12 Joe Graves
13 Joe Stace
14 Jordan Mustard
15 Angus Bradley
Replacements
16 Steve Brinkley
17 Josh Fairman
18 Shaun Blyth
Our Ensors Chartered Accountants Man of the Match v Chelmsford is George Wadham,
Head Coach Aaron Beaumont (sponsored by TS Financial Planning) said:
"George was excellent on Saturday, showing great speed and power on the edge to score a first-half hat-trick. His work rate on kick chase and double efforts around the tackle area were brilliant."
George is proudly sponsored by @waveneycampers_eastanglia and wore the No.2 jersey, kindly sponsored by Ensors Chartered Accountants.
In their own league opener the 2XV bravely went down 42 - 24 to Cantabrigian 1XV while the thirds lost narrowly 31 - 33 to Swaffham 1XV.
Saturday 30th August - Wymondham 60 Peterborough 24 (Pre-season)
This performance was a marked improvement on Wymondham’s first pre-season fixture, played in front of a large, enthusiastic and well imbibed Beer Festival Weekend crowd. The smaller 21 man squad were able to work on building consistency, continuity and positional cohesion.
Peterborough ply their trade in the corresponding level six East Midland leagues and started the match in lively fashion,applying the early pressure following a home fluffed kick off reception. However, Wymondham were able to weather these early attacks and following a couple of clever relieving kicks from Delaney they hit their rhythm, monopolising territory and possession and running in six first half tries. Two of these came from well organised and executed close range line-out drives, with Wadham and Head the beneficiaries. Mobile hooker Wadham claimed his second, appearing outside winger Mustard before slaloming around two defenders and bursting through two more for a remarkable score.With half backs Delaney and Airdrie pulling the strings and the pack providing plenty of go forward possession three quarters Mustard, Graves and Foley completed the first half touchdowns.
Half time 36 - 0
Wymondham’s performance levels noticeably dropped during the third quarter and Peterborough grabbed two early well worked tries. With a possible comeback on the cards Wymondham were eventually able to reassert their first half dominance, and further tries followed from replacement second row Charlton, the rampant Wootton with wingers Mustard and Foley both claiming their second. Delaney's five conversions completed the scoring and saw them run out comfortable winners despite Peterborough's late brace.
There were a lot of positives to be taken from this performance however the coaches will be concerned at the teams inability to maintain performance levels for the whole 80 minutes, allowing the opposition to claim what would have been a try bonus point. No doubt this will be a main focus at training with another challenging league season against quality opposition beckoning.
Ensors Chartered Accountants Man of the Match
Our captain Josh Clark was named Ensors Man of the Match in the 1XV’s 60-24 win over Peterborough.
Head Coach Aaron Beaumont (Sponsored by TS Financial Planning) said:
"Josh had a fantastic all-round game in his first match back after a year out injured. He was a constant threat in attack, carrying hard and linking well with the wingers to create scoring opportunities. Defensively, he led from the front, making vital reads and tackles to shut down Peterborough’s attack."
Josh is proudly sponsored by Aspen Property Development
He wore the number 13 shirt, kindly sponsored by Kevin Scott.
TEAM
1 Chris Miller
2 George Wadham
3 Jamie Boggan
4 Dom Broadhead
5 Sandy Kiddle
6 Henry Wootton
7 Sam Head
8 John Camara
9 Auden Airdrie
10 Charlie Delaney
11 Elliott Foley
12 Joe Stace
13 Josh Clark (capt)
14 Jordan Mustard
15 Joe Graves
16 Shaun Spriddell
17 Steve Brinkley
18 Henry Charlton
19 Jake Girdler
20 George Bunn
21 Josh Cousens
Saturday 16th August - Wymondham 34 Stamford 31 (Pre-Season)
Stamford, like Wymondham, are an ambitious club playing in the equivalent level 6 Midland Leagues and an ideal opponent for the first pre-season trial match. Both sides fielded large squads with players rotated in during the four quarters which gave us an exciting encounter with see-sawing fortunes as new combinations were blooded. The red and blacks were a healthy mixture of regular established senior players plus a good number of emerging young home grown talent and a smattering of new recruits. As the game progressed it quickly became apparent that competition across all three teams in coming season would be fierce.
This was very much a full blooded encounter with some thunderous tackling and it took 15 minutes before Wymondham broke the deadlock when a Girdler break and pass from an attacking scrum was skilfully flicked on by fullback Bradley for winger Blyth to dot down. Stamford replied with three of their own before half time through their lively back division. In response powerful winger Foley bulldozed his way through two defenders to score on the right with Bradley, now at flyhalf, again the provider with a perfectly judged mazey run and pass.
Half Time - Wymondham 10 - 21 Stamford
The second half continued in similar fashion to the first and the introduction of recent colts including Bunn, Davey and Fairman added some youthful energy. Wymondham added four more tries including the winning score on the stroke of full time. The first of these came when a well timed hard flat pass from Rix put Foley in under the posts. The next was from a 5 meter scrum when young number 9 Bunn picked up from the base and dummied his way past two would-be tacklers to score under the posts. The third again showcased Foley's strength and vision as he bounced off three tacklers then picked out the supporting Connor Houghting who sped in untouched. The final and winning try came following a series of patient rucks on the opposition 22 before Taaffe-Fowle’s looping run engaged the defence and Houghting motored home for his second.
This was an entertaining match with the backs tries built on a hard working forward platform. It has undoubtedly given both sets of coaches plenty to ponder on and work with.
For many in the sizeable and enthusiastic crowd the highlight of the match was home prop Beales’ “bellying off” an attempted tackler, a technique reminiscent of Saturday afternoon wrestling in the seventies and proof that rugby is always open to new innovations!
Man of the Match Awards
Our Ensors Chartered Accountants Man of the Match goes to George Wadham (sponsored by @waveneycampers_eastanglia). Playing out of position at Hooker, George’s work rate and physicality were outstanding all game.
Our @crendontimber Man of the Match was awarded to Ryan Taaffe-Fowle, who shone at Wing & Fullback. Ryan put his body on the line with some crucial last-ditch tackles and capped off his performance with a superb run to set up the final try.
Next up: Pre-season home fixtures at the Beer Festival, Saturday 30th August:
1XV v Peterborough 1XV - 3pm
Wasps v Cambridge - 1pm
2XV v Peterborough 2XV - 1pm
3XV v Southwold 2XV - 12:30pm
Head Coach - Aaron Beaumont (sponsored by TS Financial Planning Ltd):
"It was great to see 37 players getting game time on Saturday. Lots of changes throughout the game made continuity difficult, but there were plenty of positives and also areas to sharpen up before the season starts."