Thu 14 Apr 2022, 19:30
Having beaten Abgindon then forfetited the long midweek trip to Banbury, Wallingford Vets somewhat unexpectedly found themselves in the Plate semi-final against Wheatley, with a final against Grove vets waiting for the victors.
In selection, Wallingford were finally able to call upon a decent number of their ‘golden generation’ now that they had tipped over the 35 year mark in recent years. Alongside a number of players still turning out for the 1st and 2nd XVs, it was great to see a number of players returning after a long time away from the pitch, notably 200 club members Derek Viljoen and Olli Henderson, as well as welcome returns for Pete Strang, Chris Jenkins, Dan White and Tom Rowberry.
Despite all the talent on show, Wallingford were caught a bit cold by a physical Wheatley side who similarly had some players still playing regularly for their senior sides. Their gameplan was simple, but with Wallingford’s occasionals still easing themselves in on a rock solid pitch, their direct running had some early success.
But Wallingford, with flair players like Blaszko, Strang and Henderson, soon created chances of their own, with some excellent offloading testing the Wheatley defence, which held firm in the opening exchanges.
With Strang pulling the strings and finding some excellent touches, Wallingford soon worked their way into the opposition twenty two, before the ball was moved to Henderson in midfield, who threw a tame dummy by his standards to canter in from 10 meters.
It was becoming clear that Wallingford had the edge in the backs, and this proved to be the case for the next try. Off a set-piece on half-way, centres Holton and Smith combined like the old days to send the latter in for a well finished try.
But Wheatley did not roll over after these early scores. After earning several penalties in the Wallingford half, they eventually had some success from a catch and drive to reduce the deficit.
The rest of the half saw players from both sides begging to come off to catch some breath, but minimal rugby activity, as Wallingford went into half time 12-5 up.
The second half saw a change in style from the hosts, as they looked to slow the game down and reduce the number of offloads, and looked to Strang to pin the opposition back with his cultured left boot.
This plan seemed to work as Wheatley struggled to get into the Wallingford half for large periods of the second half.
The introduction of Derek Viljoen and Dan White seemed to spark Wallingford’s attack back into life, as the former looked dangerous with every touch in his unaccustomed position on the left wing, whilst White’s link play improve the pack’s cohesion.
The order of tries in the second half is a bit of a blur, but I think Tom Hill got the next score, benefitting from an excellent break down the left from Viljoen, whilst there was also a short range try from Gav Harmer and a deserved, if a little fortuitous try for Viljoen, whose large melon got an assist for his try.
Wheatley still posed a threat, and got another try of their own, but ultimately the damage was done as Wallingford ran out 29-12 victors.
This was an entertaining game of rugby played in good spirits by both times and well officiated by a referee who appeared to be on his death bed before kick off.
It was great to see so many old faces back on the pitch, which apparently had coach Chris ‘Kronenburg’ Norrington choking up on the sideline.
The final will be against Grove Vets on Wednesday 27th April at Oxford Harlequins, KO 18:15.
1.Matt Pryor (Doug Haggart) 2.Guy Hewitt (Stuart Mount) 3.Tony Fixter 4.Tom Rowberry 5.Gav Harmer (Andy Nicoll) 6.Ian Jeffreys (Dan White) 7.Mark Lenane 8.Kris Blaszko 9.Pete McKinley 10.Pete Strang 11.Tom Hill (Andy Hill) 12.Pete Holton 13.Ralph Smith (Chris Jenkins) 14.Matt Fearn (Derek Viljoen) 15.Olli Henderson
Match photos can be found in the gallery section below:
http://WallingfordRFC.rfu.club/gallery/vets-vs-wheatley-14th-april-2022
