Sun 27 Feb 2022
Wallingford went into their final league game of the campaign against Bracknell knowing that only a bonus point victory for their opponents could deny them top spot in the league.
In selection, the influential duo of Matt Purnell (concussion) and JJ Brown (little pinky) were unavailable, adding to the long injury list that Wallingford have accrued over the season, but they were able to welcome back Johnson Rabuka and Reuben Pickard to the side.
On a bright but breezy day at the Hithercroft, despite Harvey Miller shelling the kick off, the home side were soon on the front foot, with hard carries from the forwards and some enterprising play by the backs.
With a heavy Bracknell side getting on the wrong side of the ref early on, Wallingford worked their way in the opposition twenty-two, before Jack Earl fed Rabuka who crashed over from short range.
And it didn’t take long before the same pair combined for try number two, as Earl fed Rabuka from a quick tap and the big number 8 reached over for a converted try.
Playing against the wind, Bracknell were struggling to clear their lines, as Wallingford defended their big runners well, limiting them to only a few half chances in the opening quarter.
A third try soon followed, following some great hands down the left flank, Rabuka was on hand to finish well under pressure for his hat-trick try that was well converted by Earl.
The half was finished with a bonus point try for the hosts, as a well-executed catch and drive saw Isaac Hall go over for his first try since September. Earl again converted.
Half-time Wallingford 26 Bracknell 0
The opening 10 minutes saw a revitalised Bracknell come out of the blocks with all guns blazing, as their weighty pack carried relentlessly into the Wallingford defence. During this spell Wallingford’s defence was outstanding, with no-one taking a backwards step, typified by the efforts of Alfie Bumpass and Felix Harris.
Bracknell were eventually rewarded with a try, following the sin-binning of Will Newing for a deliberate knock on in the twenty-two.
It was Wallingford’s turn to struggle to clear their lines against the wind, as several try-line drop outs simply held up in the wind for the Bracknell runners to continue their onslaught. Ironically, their next score came from a fortuitous bounce and some sloppy Wallingford play.
From a penalty kick to the corner, Wallingford let the ball bounce and it fell kindly for their chasing winger who finished well.
In danger of undoing all of their good work from the first half, Wallingford didn’t panic and gradually worked their way back into the game, with breaks from Pickard and Felix Cotton taking them into the Bracknell half.
The remainder of the half saw more whistle than an early ‘90s rave, as the referee was relentless in blowing up for everything, as the game limped to a conclusion.
There was still time for one more try, as Harvey Miller stretched brilliantly to score on the left with the last play of the game, with Earl converting.
This was a good win for Wallingford against a powerful Bracknell side, especially considering the number of big-match players absent.
It was far from perfect, with the error count probably the highest its been all season, but the defence was again excellent throughout, and even when Bracknell looked like they were beginning to dominate, Wallingford showed great resilience to work their way back into the game.
There were several candidates for Man of the Match, with Johnson, Silas and Felix excellent in the pack, whilst Reuben and Felix had strong games in the backs, but man of the match went to Alfie Bumpass, who was superb in defence, and also had a big impact at scrum time.
