Sat 2 Oct 2021
Wallingford hosted Reading on a truly sodden October’s afternoon, as they looked to bounce back from their narrow loss on the opening day at Aylesbury.
In selection, Wallingford were without Tom Cerullo, Charles Campbell and Max Suttner, but were able to welcome back Dan Sadler and Tom Swainston, for what he claims is his last game for the 1st XV.
After being drenched in the warm up, Wallingford started the brighter of two sides, and should have scored an early try after a Sam Botting break, but the greasy ball slipped through Alex Brown’s clutches with the try line at his mercy.
The greasy ball was to be the dominant factor in the game, as both sides, but Wallingford in particular, struggled to hold on to the ball in contact.
The home side were rewarded for their positive start though, when Swainston struck a penalty from 30m out to open the scoring.
But Reading were soon level, as they kicked a simple penalty following a Wallingford offside. Wallingford were starting to fall foul of the referee, mainly via over-stepping the back foot, as Reading began to dominate possession and territory.
Following the sin-binning of Ian Jeffreys for a borderline offside in the opposition’s twenty-two, Reading struck another penalty to take the lead.
That was the last action of any note in the half, as the knock-on count overtook the points count, with both teams strugging to build any real momentum.
The second half was more of the same, as two good defences cancelled eachother out, with the only notable act being a yellow card for the Reading 10.
Wallingford did start to edge the play in the second half, as they reduced the error count and improved their kicking game, with the likes of Swainston, replacement Matt Fearn and Brown putting in some fine territorial kicks under pressure.
And as the game entered the final 10 minutes, Wallingford scored the decisive score of the match. After a line-out on the Reading twenty-two, the forwards patiently worked their way towards the line, before a powerful carry by Craig Irwin took the ball to within inches of the Reading line. And from there, the Bruce Lee of try-scoring, captain James Norris, went over with one of his trademark one inch tries. Swainston converted.
With nine minutes to go, and the rain beginning to ramp up again, Reading looked for a reply, but with Wallingford’s defence holding firm, and the ball almost impossible to hold onto, they struggled to gain any notable territory, as Wallingford held out for a good win.
As rugby matches go, this was a pretty uneventful match, with the conditions making prolonged phases almost impossible, and was ultimately a case of whoever made the least mistakes would win.
After a frustrating first half where Reading had the advantage, Wallingford’s second half made the difference, as they denied Reading any points, and managed the conditions well to earn the win.
There were plenty of strong performances across the park, with Dan Sadler, James Norris and Sam Botting all putting in good shifts, and the bench (Fearn, Josh Morris and James Willcox-Jones) all making big impacts, but Man of the Match went to Craig Irwin for a tireless effort around the park.
The game was played in good spirits by both teams, with no niggle, and it was good to see some of the Reading lads sharing some jokes with the Wallingford VPs on the sideline. Also thanks go to the referee, who was fair and consistent throughout.
A quick mention for Tom Swainston, who has (prematurely) decided to hang up his 1st XV boots, albeit he has indicated that he will stay involve on the coaching front and turn out for the 2s when available.
Tom joined Wallingford when the club was struggling near the bottom of Southern Counties North back in 2013, and straight away made a big impact both on and off the pitch. A quality operator at both 9 and 10 who rarely had a bad game (just don’t mentioned Gosford away), Tom racked up 108 1st XV appearances and 14 tries, and probably more assists than any other player.
Good shift Vommy!
Full match photos, courtesy of Paul Sharkey, can be found here:
Wallingford RFC - Wallingford 10 - 6 Reading - 2nd October 2021 (rfu.club)
