Sat 9 Nov 2019
By Matt Lewis
After a two week break it was back to league action as Wycombe entertained Chesham. In selection, the home team handed debuts to Toby Disbury, Toby Payne, Lewey Newton and were able to welcome Ayrton Hooker back from injury. With heavy rain from the kick-off it made it difficult for both sides to play any rugby and understandably the game was littered with handling errors. It was Wycombe who had the first chance at points when a good carry from Craig Murray took play over the halfway line. Chesham were penalised at the ruck and Toby Payne on his debut opted for the difficult kick at goal which just fell short. The away team cleared their lines but from the resulting lineout a strong break from Jake Banton took him in behind the defence, unfortunately his pass didn’t go to hand and play was brought back as Chesham were offside. Wycombe kicked to touch and set up a strong rolling maul which was stopped close to the line. The forwards tried to muscle the ball over the line, but the away team defended well and held up the ball. At the scrum Wycombe were pushed off their own ball and the ball was cleared. The home team had another opportunity for points when Chesham were adjudged to have used their hands in a ruck but this time the kick just went wide. Chesham were soon on the attack when Wycombe failed to deal with an up and under and after some strong carries from their forwards the home team were penalised for being offside and Toby Deane slotted a difficult kick from out wide 0-3. An excellent hanging restart enabled Wycombe to gather the ball and shortly after Chesham winger Alfie Pettifer was yellow cared for a high tackle. With Ayrton Hooker now on a prop, the home team were able to exert some pressure at the scrum and from a big Wycombe scrum Chesham were under pressure and just managed to clear their lines. The ball didn’t make touch and was well taken by Harry Tanner who spotted space in behind the defence and put in an accurate kick which stopped just short of the line. This forced the Chesham prop (who had done well to get back) to dive on the ball and carry it over the line. With a solid Chesham scrum the ball was fed to the backs and eventually after several carries some quick hands found Jamie Vowles on the wing to score 5-3. Wycombe gathered the restart but were soon penalised allowing Chesham the opportunity to take the lead into half-time but the kick was pushed wide and the half time whistle sounded.
Half Time 5-3
The start of the second half seemed to coincide with the rain getting even heavier making the ball more like a bar of soap. Although both sides tried to play good rugby it often ended with a knock on or a handling error and game was littered with scrums. Wycombe were able to take advantage when Chesham were penalised for being offside and this enabled Toby Payne to make a good touch in the Chesham twenty-two. With the rolling maul coming to nothing Wycombe used their backs but a Chesham hand in midfield knocked the ball on and the home team were awarded a scrum. The forwards kept the ball tight and a ball back inside to Ayrton hooker saw him bulldoze his way through two tackles to score under the posts with Toby Payne making the kick 12-3. With the rain showing no signs of relenting there were no more chances for either team and both players and supporters were glad to hear the final whistle.
Full Time 12-3
This was an extremely difficult game with the conditions as they were, Chesham played well their league position doesn’t do them justice and I am sure they will record their first victory soon. As for Wycombe with the conditions this could have been a banana skin of a game, but they dug in and deserved the win.
Next week away to Didcot
