Sat 21 Oct 2023
Wallingford travelled to the land of roundabouts to face Milton Keynes on a mild October afternoon as they looked to get back to winning ways after some frustrating results.
In selection, due to injuries and holidays, Wallingford were without a number of regulars, but were able to welcome back Nathan Chapman, Tom Perrott, Tom Cerullo, Chris Greig-Jenkins and Lewis Stacey into the starting XV, whilst 18 year old Oscar I’Anson made his 1st XV debut in the front row.
Wallingford kicked off and wasted no time in getting on to the scoreboard. After MK kicked the ball away loosely, Chris Greg-Jenkins had two powerful runs to take play up to the MK line, before Nathan Chapman stepped inside and powered his way over from short range for a try on the left that Lewis Stacey converted well.
And the next score came soon after. With MK on the attack in the Wallingford half, a fumble in midfield was seized upon by Greig-Jenkins who quickly found the supporting Stacey who in turn put Cerullo away on the left and the centre, returning from 18 months out with a knee injury, showed that he hadn’t lost too much pace as he sprinted in from 60m for a converted score.
Wallingford’s lightning start continued as they picked up a third try in the opening 15 minutes. From a line-out just inside the MK half, a powerful carry by debutant I’Anson set up play 30m out, and with the MK tight defence napping, the alert Chapman went straight through the breakdown before feeding the supporting Perrott for his maiden 1st XV try.
The entertaining start continued, this time with MK striking back. From a breakdown on halfway, Wallingford found themselves too narrow in defence and MK exploited the blindside to run in a well taken try to reduce arrears.
The hosts then scored again five minutes later, following some loose midfield defence and a hard line saw their centre crash over from 10m after a catch and drive.
With 5 tries in the opening 20 minutes, we then had to wait another 9 minutes before the next score, which was to prove crucial. This time it was the forwards to the fore, as they executed a catch and drive brilliantly from 15m out for James Norris to touch down which Stacey did well to convert.
That was to prove the last score of the half as half time came with the scores at 24-14 to Wallingford.
The second half started with MK missing a penalty kick at goal, before Wallingford scored their fifth try of the afternoon.
From an MK line-out 10m in their half, Wallingford turned the ball over and moved the ball to Chapman on halfway who proceeded to step his way through the midfield defence before sprinting in for an electric solo effort. Stacey then followed his conversion with a well struck penalty from 30m out as Wallingford moved into a 34-14 lead.
MK never game up and picked up an opportunistic try on the hour mark. From a Wallingford scrum on halfway, the MK scrum half intercepted Chapman’s short pass to Perrott before sprinting in for a fine individual try.
The scoring continued, as Wallingford struck again only minutes later. With good phase play taking play up to the MK twenty-two, a break by Jacob Knight took play to up the 5m line, before the ball was moved left for Stacey to lay on the scoring pass for Greig-Jenkins to walk in his maiden try for the club.
Next up, ‘travel man’ Chapman completed his hat-trick with another electric break from 30m out and a clumsy swan dive – a try that takes him into the top 10 all-time 1st XV try scorers at the club.
With the hosts tiring, Wallingford put further gloss on the scoreline, with a Cerullo run in from halfway after good hands from Perrott and Stacey.
That ended proceedings, with Wallingford winning 57 points to 22.
This performance was well overdue for Wallingford. Its been a frustrating start to the season for Wallingford as they struggled to convert dominance on the pitch into victories, but this match finally saw things come together.
The return of Chapman and Cerullo clearly gave Wallingford extra attacking edge, but there were plenty of fine performances across the park, with Perrott, Knight and Stacey pulling the strings in the backline, Greig-Jenkins destructive as ever on the wing, whilst the forwards put in an excellent shift in the loose and at set-piece.
But Man of the Match went to Oscar I’Anson, who, on debut, was rock solid in the scrum and oozed power and class in the loose.
