Sat 18 Feb 2023
Wallingford hosted Thatcham for their third Friday Night Lights game of the season, as they looked to continue their seven game winning run. Despite sitting bottom of the league, Thatcham had embarrassed Wallingford in the reverse fixture earlier in the season, and they had several new faces in their squad, meaning that the game was far from a foregone conclusion.
In selection, Wallingford were able to field a near full strength team, with a host of players returning to the side after missing the Bletchley game two weeks prior, including Sam Botting, who returned to partner Murray Bellis in the centres for his first game since the start of the year.
Thatcham are always strong up front, and this proved to be the case early on as they held Wallingford in the scrum and resisted the Wallingford pack’s early pressure in attack. The thorn in their side early on however was discipline, as they conceded a dozen penalties in their own half in the opening half an hour, somehow avoiding losing a player to the bin.
This ill-discipline gave Wallingford plenty of attacking platform, and they came close on several occasions but valiant Thatcham defence kept the hosts at bay for the opening 15 minutes. But Wallingford remained patient, and after some sustained attacking pressure from the forwards, the ball was moved left for Bellis to provide the scoring pass for JJ Brown to go over in the left corner for his seventh try of the season. Ollie Corbett missed the conversion.
Wallingford continue to dominate play, and soon extended their lead through a well struck Corbett penalty, as Thatcham struggled to escape their half for large periods. They did enjoy a brief spell of pressure as they looked to use their catch and drive in the Wallingford twenty-two, but the host’s impressive defence resisted their advances.
And the crucial next score then went to the hosts. With play breaking down inside the Thatcham half, the ball was moved to Bellis in midfield, and the centre showed his class as he stepped through the broken field defence and sprinted in for a fine individual try. Corbett converting.
A hard fought half ended 15-0 to Wallingford.
The second half saw a shift in strategy from the hosts, as they looked to move the ball away from the Thatcham pack and use their talented back line on a dry track perfect for running rugby.
With halfbacks Corbett and Jacob Knight pulling the strings, the second half saw some high quality attacking play from the Wallingford backline, as they moved the ball crisply to stretch the Thatcham defence, creating chance after chance.
But ironically it was via a charge down that Wallingford scored their third try, as Sam Botting charged down a clearance kick and won the footrace to the loose ball to dot down for his first try of the season. Corbett converting.
As Thatcham began to tire, the home side’s backs came to the fore with first Brown doubling up following some excellent interplay from the backs, before fellow teenager Felix Cotton finished well on the right for his maiden 1st XV try. Corbett converting the latter.
The next try was another Bellis special, as he beat several men in midfield before accelerating in from 40m for his fifth try in as many games, before another brilliant team move put Brown in for his hat-trick try in the left corner to finish the scoring.
The game ended 48-0 to the hosts.
This was arguably Wallingford’s most complete display of the season, with a strong pack performance enabling the backline to enjoy themselves, which they certainly did. Some of the attacking from deep was electric at times, as the bumper crowd were treated to some of the best rugby seen at the Hithercroft in a long time. Thatcham, who had their strongest team of the season out on show, competed throughout and made Wallingford work for the win, but were unlucky to be on the end of such a strong performance from Wallingford.
Man of the Match could have gone to any of the back line, but Ollie Corbett edged it, with his immaculate distribution and game management, as well as some fine kicking, playing a big part in the team’s performance.
