Sat 26 Nov 2022
On a great yet mild Saturday afternoon a much changed Second VX visited Abingdon for the first time in a number ofyears. The side was a mix of youthful exhuberance, with Ali Marsden making his senior debut on the wing, and experience skippered by Mark Lenane in the absence of an injured Pat McKenna (those Vets games are dangerous Pat!)
In the absence of a lurgy filled Coach Poulding, Doug Haggart dusted down his coaches notebook to look after things on the sidelines and offer words of Celtic encouragement.
Wallingford started strongly, pressurising the hosts in the set piece and breakdown to win a penalty around the half-way mark. This was kicked to the corner, before a well executedcatch and drive from the lineout saw Josh Campbell go over for the first try of the game on the 3 minute mark. This went unconverted. 0-5
The hosts began to exert some more pressure from the restart, with their centres combining well at times, forcing the visitors to defend for a period around the centre of the park, before the scrum dominance led to them gaining territory again. On 15 minutes after a series of strong carries from the likes of Bain, Timms and Thomson Wallingford were pressing on the opposition line. A pass from Lewis gave Harmer all the space he need to gallop over the line with a couple of defenders left in his wake. Arnold slotted the conversion, 0-12.
Within 3 minutes Wallingford scored again, this time after excellent awareness from Bucknall, who when chasing a kick chose to head the bouncing ball beyond the Abingdon full-back, before regathering and with an arcing run scoring a great individual try in the right hand corner. 0-17 and the visitors were scoring at a point a minute.
Wallingford continued to press forward, with veteran Prop Ridley entering the fray for a clearly unwell Miller (who’d put in a decent shift.) Wallingford’s pressure told with the home side straying off-side close to the line. Campbell took a quick tap and rumbled over the line – carrying a couple of backs who got in his way with him. 0 -22
With a good service from Arnold behind a dominant pack the backs were enjoying throwing the ball around, Darby fed Lewis and Branson, who in turn shipped it to Marsden who joined the line at pace. Creating a 2 on one with the Abingdon winger, the debutant drew his man and put Bucknall away from about 35m. 0-27.
Some Abingdon players became a bit more fired up at this point, with their winger running at Skipper Lenane, who held him off whilst smiling. Carroll, playing his first game of the season, enthusiastically went to his skippers aid, albeit there was no need. The Ref calmed things down and asked both Skippers to have a word with their sides.
Shortly afterwards scrums became uncontested, and rightly so, on the grounds of player safety. This did however remove a big tool from the Wally armoury. Darby also left the field with what later transpired to be a fractured thumb, with Lewis moving to 10 and Elliot coming on at outside centre. Howeverthey didn’t let it bother them and on 38 minutes Branston raced over the line. Arnold converted and shortly after the half ended with the score at 0-34.
The half-time teamtalk was simple, cut down on the back chat that was creeping in, and more of the same.
That back chat and indiscipline proved costly as Wallingford spent the next few minutes giving penalties away. Abingdon moved up the park, and put together a phase of passes to go over for a try which was converted. 7-34.
Wallingford bounced back, pressuring the hosts from the kick off and retaining possession, with the forwards and backs combining and Harmer going over on the 53rd minute. Arnoldsconversion made it 7-41.
The hosts came storming back, as Wallingford earnt the wrath of the ref for continued ‘advice’ being given from players. A thundering break from the home sides Flying Fijian outside centre, which broke a number of tackles, and left Lewis prone on the ground wondering what had hit him, put his partner in for a try, which was uncoverted. 12-41
A clearly concussed Lewis left the field after a lengthy examination to make sure it wasn’t a really serious head injury and Darby returned, with his hand strapped up and unaware of how injured his thumb was.
The visitors attacked with vigour, and another back, Elliot, left the field injured. Second Row Nigel Kyle joined son Ollie on the park, and Timms moved from the back row into the backline. With Wallingford’s backline still sorting itself out the hosts pressed home their attack going over in the left handcorner. Branson was just about to leave the field with an injury, when the Ref, having heard his ‘advice’ in the build up to the try issued a Yellow Card. 17-41 and just over half waythrough what had become an eventful second half. The Wally bench was now an ailing Miller…who greeted the news he’d have to replace Branson by coughing his guts up.
The hosts continued to press, however the Wallingford defence held firm and after winning a turnover a break by Kyle junior, and some slick handling saw Marsden, continuing to impress on debut, providing the assist to Bucknall for the second time in the game as the latter went over for his hat-trick. Arnold converted and the score moved to 17-48.
Abingdon however were a resilient side and continued to pressurise Wallingford. Their 9 had made some effective snipes, and found himself on the bottom of a ruck – Timmswas caught in the act of wiping his boots on the scrum-halfsbackside, and had no complaints with his Yellow Card. 12 minutes to go, and Wallingford now down to 13 men. The hosts scented blood and through everything at the Wally defence, which held out long enough for the sickly Miller to bring numbers up to 14. A superb chase and cover tackle from him had his coach wondering if he was really as ill as he claimed. Carroll moved out of the comfort of the pack into the depleted backline (he was winger for the 2s a few years ago after all.) The visitors tackling remained resolute, however their indiscipline continued to give the home side penalties. It was from one of these with Abingdon running everything that Arnold intercepted, and ran about 70m for a try which he converted. 17-55
Timms returned to the fray with a couple of minutes to go and the hosts continued to bombard the Wallingford defence, eventually finding a way through to score the final try of the game. 22-55. There was still time for Wallingford to kick off, and they were able to see out the remaining minutes and claim a good away win.
It was an entertaining game, in which the hosts showed great resilience to pick up a try scoring bonus point after the first half. MOTM was Bucknall after his hat-trick, with mentions for Marsden, Arnold, Harmer, Campbell, Branson and Thomson. DOTD was Timms, just ahead of Branson…as his was marginally the worse of the Yellow Cards. Special mention to Kyle Senior for that knock-on…it was a beauty.
Also credit to the referee, who did as she said she would, played plenty of advantage, and managed an at times feisty contest really well. Thank you Ma’am. One of the best refs the Seconds have had officiate them over the years.
