Sat 22 Apr 2017
The last game of the season saw High Wycombe travel to Oxfordshire to play Gosford. With Gosford safe from relegation and Wycombe just below mid-table a highly entertaining game was anticipated. Wycombe welcomed back number eight Eddie Roach but were missing several players in the front row which meant Captain Ian Burnham had to play at hooker.
With the weather ideal for running rugby both teams were keen to use their backs but were initially let down by some inaccurate passing and after twelve minutes there was no score. It was Wycombe who got points on the board first when a Gosford lineout was stolen by Jack Taplin and Wycombe worked the ball into the centre of the pitch where Gosford were penalised and Freddie Roddick took the three points, 0-3. From the kick-off, Wycombe gained good field position after being awarded a penalty but the lineout was stolen by Gosford who cleared to just outside their twenty-two. This time Dave Ricketts found Ian Burnham at the tail of the lineout and set up a rolling maul but some good defence meant Wycombe had to spin the ball out to the backs and a nice offload from Tom Boardman sent flanker Harry Bloodworth away who evaded two tackles to score, kick missed 0-8. Immediately from the kick-off Wycombe made good ground into the Gosford half through forwards and backs. The ball was then fed out to Matt Wardle who threw a long pass on the bounce to Eddie Roach who put Rob Morgan away, with several defenders in front of him Rob put in a clever kick which bounced awkwardly for the Gosford defender who decided to fly hack the ball across the pitch, fortunately the ball fell to a Gosford player but he was penalised for being in front of the kicker. Instead of taking a shot at goal Wycombe decided to take a quick penalty and kick the ball cross field but it came to nothing and the ball went dead. Wycombe regained the ball from the drop out and built phases into the Gosford twenty-two when a long pass was intercepted by the Gosford winger who had the pace to outstrip the defence and run 80 metres to score, 7-8. Wycombe were soon on the attack again when a chip kick from the Gosford fly half was fielded by Joe Openshaw and after a couple of passes Rob Morgan made an impressive break beating a number of defenders and took the ball into the twenty-two. After several phases the ball was spun out and some good hands from the backs sent Rob Morgan over in the corner, kick missed 7-13. Some good defence from Wycombe prevented any more points being scored before half time.
For some reason, Wycombe often start the second half slowly and this game was no different with a 7-13 advantage turning into a 19-13 deficit in the first 10 minutes. Initially Wycombe started brightly and a good break from Tom Boardman took play into the Gosford twenty-two but the ball was knocked on in the tackle and Gosford were awarded a scrum. From the scrum a decent kick took play close to the touch line and Wycombe decided to keep the ball in play, but a poor up and under was gathered by Gosford and with no full back at home the Gosford fly half chipped the ball behind the defence and it was gathered by a Gosford player who scored under the posts, 14-13. The restart didn’t cross the ten-metre line and so Gosford had a scrum on the half way line. A solid scrum enabled the scrum half to pick up from the base and go blind and he carried the ball up to Wycombe twenty-two where another chip in behind the defence caught Wycombe napping and Gosford regathered to score, 13-19. Wycombe regained their composure and built some pressure in the opposition half, forcing Gosford to concede two penalties. Unfortunately, Wycombe were now struggling in the lineouts as a neck injury forced the only recognised thrower Dave Ricketts off the pitch. From a scrum inside their own twenty-two Gosford decided to run the ball and created a two man overlap but the final pass went to ground and was seized upon by Tom Boardman who offloaded to Matt Wardle and he went over to score, kick missed 18-19. The game was finely balanced with both teams trying to play good rugby, it was Wycombe who capitalised from a Gosford knock on and spun the ball wide to James Lambert who drew the last defender and passed inside to Freddie Roddick to score, kick missed 19-23. It was now Gosford’s turn to exert pressure on Wycombe and were awarded a penalty which they kicked to touch ten metres from the Wycombe line. Some good defence at the lineout forced Gosford into touch but Wycombe couldn’t secure their own lineout ball and knocked on. A steady platform at the scrum enabled the home team to build pressure and eventually went over to score 24-23. Wycombe were not deterred and Eddie Roach made a strong break from the kick off taking play into the twenty-two where Wycombe were awarded a penalty just wide of the posts but opted to take a quick tap instead of a shot a goal. Initially the decision seemed justified as Wycombe were inches from the try line but just as Eddie Roach was going over the line the ball was ripped from his grasp and Gosford cleared their lines. With three minutes remaining Wycombe had no further chances and the game ended 24-23.
An entertaining game from two evenly matched teams, congratulations to Gosford on their hard-fought victory. For Wycombe, the first ten minutes after half time and the lack of a recognised goal kicker probably cost them the victory, but another encouraging performance from a youthful team.
