A mixed weekend for our teams

A final of any sort always carries an extra level of expectation – and, given the quality of players on this Farnham’s team sheet, for this one doubly so. That said we were playing Rosslyn Park who are always likely to be packed with well drilled talent – even before reflecting on the fact that, having held them to a draw at their place a few months back in the As, they were going to want to make a statement in this ‘the return’. Our lads were in for a stern test (and so it proved!). 
 
In summary, the initial intensity and speed of the game probably took some of our lads by surprise in the first 15 minutes of H1. And consequently we quickly found ourselves a couple of scores down in the face of some hard carrying from their big men around the fringes (where our tackling was brave but not dominant). In attack we were required to overcommit at the breakdown to secure the ball and consequently our play lacked shape and the options in our big runners that we have been able to play in to make ground against lesser teams (the boys themselves talked post-match of having felt like they were ‘on the back foot’ all game.). Their third try just before the break was probably a bit of a killer and it took the wind out of the boys.  
 
In H2 we got the start we were looking for with a score from some early sustained pressure for Thomas Worsley to crash over. It felt like the come-back might be on – especially when moment later Charlie Hughes found space on the outside. However, their cover was solid and their game built back again from there. We meanwhile failed to establish the required field position, made some untimely poor decisions and errors, saw our intensity (and fitness)) fall off and the game started to slip away. Three late tries followed as our boys lost belief in the ability to turn things around at the same time the visitors started to show their running class. The final score doesn’t perhaps reflect the match but it does reflect the dynamics within it.  
 
Putting the score to one side, the boys deserve great credit for making this final, and then for their effort on the day. This is as well as I have seen a Farnham Bs side play – certainly the defensive effort, particularly from our midfield, but on the day the opposition were just better than us. 

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