Home Vs Wandsworthians 17/10/09

Egham’s second home match of the season saw Wandsworthians make the trip to King’s Lane. Excellent recent Tuesday night training sessions have meant that there is far more resolve and a great atmosphere building round the club. Previous Egham sides would have succumbed to the much larger and more aggressive Wandsworthans pack. From the first whistle Egham were in the opposition’s faces and good pressure saw Egham pressing on the opposition 22 for the first 5 minutes. A lack of concentration, elementary errors and a very whistle happy ref allowed Wandsworthians back into a match in which they were always second best.

Egham’s first try came on the back of a huge hit by Sam walker, the resulting knock-on was hacked through by fly-half David paine who the drew his man in on a two on one to set paddy away for a clear run to the line. Once again Egham switched off and Wandsworthians had their best period of the match, however they were unable to break the resolute defence of the Egham line. After a series of attacks they had settle for 3 points

 Half time Egham 7 Wandsworthians 3

 At the start of the second half, the Egham forwards really started to play, and after a series of breaks from TJ and Adam, substitute Jack du Pilles barrelled his way over from close range. The match had started to open up and good work down the line saw John Griffiths make space only for the final pass to die away. A huge scrum won against the head and driven back allowed more pressure on the Wandsworthians line and a after  a series of drives round the fringes, the ball  was worked wide to allow Strivens an easy stroll to the corner.

The last 5 minutes meant more resolute defending as Egham looked to close out the match, and Wandsworthians would almost certainly have scored if it wasn’t for two outstanding tackles from Jonny Holloway in the corners.

Final score Egham 19 Wandsworthians 3

Following a win against a team who have won the 4 previous meetings, there are still a number of areas that need more work. The backs performed well, but weren’t quite able to fire full, and the lineout still needs some serious work. Great performances in the pack, Stuart turner and David Paine meant choosing MOTM was no easy task, but it was the strong work in attack and defence from Paddy that really shone through.

By Hugh Strivens

Scrum Down

Tough Competition in the Line