Sat 4 Dec 2021
High Wycombe 1st XV 31 – 16 Aylesbury 1st XV
Wycombe welcomed Bucks rivals Aylesbury to Kingsmead and were involved in another entertaining game. With Aylesbury only tasting defeat once this was always going to be a tough encounter and it didn’t disappoint. In selection Wycombe were still missing several forwards due to injury but were able to field an exciting back line with the return of Ollie Fennel-Wells.
It was Wycombe who drew first blood in the first minute of the match. A well taken kick off set up a ruck just outside the twenty-two. Noticing no-one at home scrum half Joe Openshaw put up an intelligent box kick which landed in space. With an excellent chase the ball bounced favourably into the hands of Dan Kier who broke through a tackle and had the legs to score in the corner 5-0. It became evident early on that Aylesbury had the edge up front and were using their rolling maul to good effect. From some good work over the ball Aylesbury were awarded a penalty straight in front of the post and cut the arrears with a penalty 5-3. More indiscipline allowed Aylesbury to slot another penalty and take a 5-6 lead. Wycombe were not learning their lessons and another infringement at the break saw the referee brandish a yellow card to Elliot Hearne. Moments later Wycombe were down to 13 players when an off the ball incident resulted in Joe Holloman receiving a yellow card of his own for his retaliation. Although under pressure the home team defended resolutely, and Elliot returned with no additions to the score line. Now with 14 players Wycombe were awarded a penalty for an infringement at a maul. This was taken quickly, after several carries Wycombe hadn’t made much ground. Spotting no cover in behind Matt Wardle decided to chip over the top, his precise kick was gathered by the ever-alert James Shuck who went over to score. He then converted his own try from the touchline 12-6. Wycombe had settled into the game and a penalty at the break down was expertly kicked to the corner by Matt Wardle With the forwards held up close to the line the ball went wide, and another hard carry was stopped just short of the line. An intelligent pass by scrum half Joe Openshaw put Harry Tanner through a gap to score, Shuck added to the extra’s 19-6. With three minutes remaining the focus was on not conceding before the break. The restart was well taken but the clearing kick was sliced high into midfield. Now the phrase “a kick is only as good as it’s chase” couldn’t have been more true in this instance. With confusion in the backfield the ball was allowed to bounce and an excellent chase from Ollie Fennel-Wells allowed him to out jump the defence and gather the ball on Wycombe’s ten metre line with an open field in front of him he just had the wheels to score in the corner 24-6.
Half time 24-6
Wycombe knew that Aylesbury would be fired up for the start of the second half and it wasn’t long before they cut the deficit. Using their dominant pack, they set up a line out close to the Wycombe line and after several pick and goes they scored 24-11. The home team were struggling to get out of their own half and a strong break from the Aylesbury nine took play into the twenty-two, again some strong carries enabled Aylesbury to score in the corner and cut the deficit further 24-16. It was a nervous time for the home supporters as the momentum was with the visitors but some accurate kicking from Matt Wardle was pinning the away team inside their own half. A knock on presented Wycombe with a scrum but a powerful eight-man shove from Aylesbury won the ball and they carried the ball up to the twenty-two. Looking to keep the ball alive the visitors offloaded at every opportunity but did this once too often when Joff Forber managed to get his hand to the ball. He bobbled it several times before gathering it and pinning his ears back to sprint from his own twenty-two to score under the posts, Shuck added the two points 31-16. With not long left the game became a tetchy affair with scuffles breaking out and an Aylesbury player receiving a yellow card, but Wycombe held out and came away with a deserved victory.
This was an excellent performance, with Wycombe taking their chances. This victory lifts us into 4th place in the league with two games left before the Christmas break. Next week a trip to Reading Abbey.
MoM – Ollie Fennel-Wells – His tenacious tackling set the example to the rest of the team, he worked tirelessly all game and took his try well.
