Sat 19 Oct 2019
Wallingford travelled the winding, slow road to Reading RFC as they looked to kick on from their impressive win over Marlow in the previous round of matches.
In selection, injury denied the visitors the services of Jackson Sayce, Pete McKinley and James Norris, but were able to welcome back of Tom Swainston at scrum half, Carl Tappin in the pack and Ralph Smith in the centres.
The first half was a hard fought contest, in which defences ultimately came out on top as the first forty ended in a 0-0 stalemate. Wallingford enjoyed greater possession and territory than the hosts, but every chance they created they blew, either through wayward passes, poor decision making, or getting turned over.
The errors continued for Wallingford in the second half, as, despite playing some decent structured rugby, a knock-on or a turnover cost them just as the pressure began to tell on Reading. Credit to Reading, as Wallingford tired, they took the chances that came their way, as they kicked a penalty and seized on a tiring Wallingford defence to score three tries.
Wallingford finally got on the scoreboard in the final play through a Sam Clarkson short range effort, which ended a massively frustrating day at the office for Wallingford. The match was strangely similar to last year's fixture at Reading, as Wallingford struggled to break down a determined home defence, before Reading ground out the scores that won them the game.
This was far from a poor performance from Wallingford. They dominated for decent periods of the game, but basic errors nullified any penetration that they effected, and if you make as many mistakes as Wallingford did, you are never going to win a game of rugby.
Credit to Reading though, they've endured a tough start to the season, but they play with intensity and desire, and took the chances when they came their way.
Hey ho
