Season Opener

Fri 01 Jun 2018 15:37

Sat 9 Sep 2017

High Wycombe RFC

0 - 9

Reading RFC

The start of a new season in the newly named Wadsworth 6X Southern Counties North saw recently relegated Reading travel to Kingsmead. Wycombe under new head coach Paul Gaster were looking for a strong start and were boosted by the return of Charlie Edwards, Jake Banton and Stephen Philpot from long term injuries, and gave three debuts to Mike Seeger, Musa Umar and Sam Hughes.

Unfortunately the game didn’t start as planned, the kick off was taken well by Charlie Edwards but as Wycombe tried to build some phases they knocked on and gave Reading a scrum just outside the twenty-two. Reading secured possession from the scrum, Wycombe’s defence held firm but they were penalised at the ruck and the Reading fly half took the three points on offer 0-3. From restart Reading decided to build some continuity through their forwards but some strong defence forced the Reading ten to chip behind the defence , fullback Mike Seggars rushing forward couldn’t gather the ball cleanly and kicked the ball forward straight to a Wycombe player who was offside. Reading opted to kick for touch but the ball went dead and Wycombe were awarded a scrum on their ten metre line. At the scrum number eight Craig Murray picked up from the base and made good yards, at the ensuing ruck Reading were penalised for hands in the ruck. Cam Baker kicked for touch and from the lineout Charlie Edwards made a strong break into the Reading half and could only be stopped by a high tackle. Wycombe opted to try and take the points but Cam Bakers tough kick from just inside the Reading half fell short. Although the weather was set fair both teams were guilty of making fundamental errors and the game was littered with scrums. From one of those scrums Wycombe created their best chance of the half. A great dummy from Cam Baker saw him slice through the Reading defence and only had the full back to beat, with no obvious support he tried to side step the last defender but a good tackle stopped him in his tracks and then Wycombe were penalised at the ruck for holding on and then again at the resulting lineout. Wycombe now found themselves defending a lineout on their own twenty-two but again some strong defence and a great turn over from Musa Umar stopped the Reading attack. Unfortunately Jake Banton’s clearing kick was charged down and Wycombe were adjudged to have knocked on and Reading were awarded a scrum. At this point there was a five minute delay in the game as the first of two key injuries occurred, winger Harry Tanner had to leave the field with a back injury (hopefully nothing to serious as he was able to walk off the pitch) but with four backs unavailable for the game the Wycombe bench was loaded with forwards which forced flanker Josh Hall to play on the wing. A few minutes later Wycombe suffered their second key injury when scrum half Jake Banton injured his ankle and could take no further part in the game. This meant another reshuffle in the back line with Cam Baker moving from fly half to scrum half and centre Ollie Fennell-Wells to fly half, Greg Butters from Wing to centre and flanker Ben Rush came onto the wing. The rest of the half was a scrappy affair with Wycombe repelling any Reading attack with some strong tackling and the score remained 0-3 at half time.

Wycombe started the second half well and pinned Reading back inside their twenty-two but after building some continuity through the forwards Musa Umar was held up in a tackle and Reading cleared their lines from the scrum. At this point a heavy shower made the ball very slippery and any running rugby very difficult. Wycombe continued to press and Reading were penalised for holding on, but instead of taking an easy three points decided to take a quick tap penalty but were immediately turned over. Reading cleared their line with a good kick and pinned Wycombe in their own half where they conceded a penalty. Reading attempted a long range kick which just went wide of the uprights. More mistakes from both teams and the wet ball made any flowing rugby very difficult, Wycombe were also struggling to clear their lines with having no recognised number 9 or 10. Although Reading were enjoying the territory and possession Wycombe’s defence and some unforced errors ensured the score line was still 0-3. With Wycombe struggling to get out of their own half an error presented Reading with the ball and then Wycombe were penalised for tackling a man without the ball and presented Reading with an easy 3 points. 0-6. From the kick off Reading made some hard yards but then kicked the ball out on the full which gave Wycombe a lineout in the Reading half but Wycombe were struggling for any continuity in the backs and some unforced errors quickly saw Wycombe back defending in their own half. This time a good clearance pushed Reading back to the ten metre line, who took a quick line out but once again some excellent defence forced Reading to knock on ten metres from the Wycombe line. With only a minute left Wycombe looked to keep hold of the ball to take a well-earned point from the game, but with seconds to go were adjudged to have been held up in a tackle and awarded Reading a scrum. It did look a harsh decision but Wycombe took their protests too far and the referee awarded a penalty, Reading kicked the penalty 0-9 and the final whistle sounded.

Overall Wycombe performed well, losing Jake and Harry had a big impact on the game. The defence was a big plus but Wycombe should have come away with a losing bonus point if they had taken the points on offer in the first half and not conceded the penalty in the final seconds.

Man of the Match - Craig Murray

Strong carries and great defence.

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