Report by Matt Lewis

Wycombe returned after the Christmas holidays with a trip to Stow. The break had allowed some niggling injuries to clear up and Wycombe were able to travel with a strong squad.

Wycombe started the game on the front foot and at the kick off Stow knocked on. From the scrum an accurate backs move put winger James Outten away and he was tackled just short of the line. After a couple of strong carries from the forwards the ball was spun out to the backs where Ollie Fennell-Wells powered through a gap to score after just two minutes, Matt Wardle made the kick 0-7. Wycombe secured the re-start and Stow were immediately penalised at the ruck, the penalty was kicked to the halfway line. An accurate lineout was fed out to the backs where some excellent running lines put Jack Banton away, he drew the last defender and passed the ball out to fullback Tom Bosley to score, kick missed 0-12.

The restart was allowed to bounce and fell into the hands of the home team which set up a few minutes of stow pressure. Wycombe defended well and cleared the ball to the halfway line and some excellent work over the ball from Alex Chitan secured Wycombe a penalty. A fantastic kick from Matt Wardle set up a lineout five metres from the line. With the lineout secured Wycombe’s mauling was held up and a five metre scrum was awarded. A solid scrum allowed good ball for the backs to work with but a deliberate knock on from the stow fullback stopped the attack and the Stow player was yellow carded. The penalty was kicked to touch, with the lineout secured the forwards set up a rolling maul which inched its way to the line until Captain Tom Boardman broke off to score in the corner, kicked missed 0-17.

Wycombe were awarded another penalty in midfield when Stow didn’t release the ball. Instead of kicking to touch Wycombe went quickly and put up an up and under which the Stow player did well to gather and called for the mark. The resulting kick didn’t make touch and a nice break by Matt Wardle put Wycombe on the front foot. Once again, the ball was spun out to the backs and another break from Jake Banton put him in behind the defence, with Tom Bosley outside him another well timed pass enabled Tom to go over and score, kick missed 0-22. Wycombe extended there lead further when a knock-on presented them with a scrum just outside the Stow twenty-two. Another solid scrum enabled Toby to go down the blindside some good hands set up Jake Banton eight metres who powered his way through the Stow player and over the line to score, kick missed 0-27. A well taken restart allowed Wycombe to clear their lines with an up and under, Stow gathered possession but then knocked the ball on which was gathered by the away team.  A strong carry from Ayrton put Wycombe over the gain line and yet again more good hands in the midfield put Jake Banton away again with the ever present Tom Bosley in support Jake timed the final pass to perfection to give Tom his third try of the match, kick made 0-34.

Half Time 0-34

Initially Wycombe started the second half well with a good break from Zach Gregory taking play up to the halfway line. Unfortunately, his pass didn’t go to hand and Stow were able to gain possession. The home team upped the tempo and carried hard into the Wycombe defence and after some good continuity scored in the corner 5-34.  This gave Stow the encouragement they needed and with Matt Wardle off the pitch receiving treatment the restart didn’t go ten metres. From the scrum the home team carried hard and made metres into the Wycombe half and a wicked bounce from a cross field kick gave the home team possession just short of the line. Eventually their forwards carried the ball over the line to score 10-34. Wycombe’s intensity had dropped and a few minutes later the Stow number 12 made a break from his twenty-two to deep inside the Wycombe half and then the away team were penalised. Stow kicked to touch and set up a rolling maul from the lineout which scored, kick made 17-34.  Wycombe regained their composure and from a lineout in midfield some strong carries took play into the Stow half. With the defence scrambling Matt Wardle spotted a gap and made a break and fed the ball to Michael Fradgley who carried hard to the five metre line. He was able to offload the ball back to Matt Wardle who threw a long ball out to Jake Banton who went over to score, kick missed 17-39. With Stow pressing for the bonus point try Wycombe managed to turn over the ball and spotting the space out wide Matt Wardle put in an accurate cross field kick. The ball was well taken by Jake Banton on the halfway line, he cut inside to beat the covering defence to score under the posts, kick made 17-46.

Final Score 17-46

An excellent game and well deserved victory. The display in the first half was the best we have played all season with the backs looking dangerous every time they had the ball. The forwards played their part with the scrum and lineout working well throughout the game.

Man of the Match

Jake Banton

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