Sat 11 Dec 2021, 14:30
Reading Abbey 1st XV 26 – 29 High Wycombe 1st XV
Wycombe travelled to Rosehill looking to win their third match on the bounce. In selection, Wycs were able to welcome back Zak Gregory from injury and Harry Knightley in the forwards but were forced to make several changes to the backline.
To say it was a slow start was an understatement with Abbey controlling the game, they were soon on the scoreboard when an infringement at the breakdown presented their fly half with a straight-forward kick at goal 3-0. Unforced errors were hurting the away team and knock on from a kick through gave Abbey a scrum inside the twenty-two. A solid scrum set up play just short of the line and after some hard carries Abbey team scored, 10-0. In recent weeks Wycombe had worked hard to cut out the number of penalties they were conceding but were suffering somewhat of a relapse when another penalty enabled the accurate Reading flyhalf to stretch the lead 13-0 after 15 minutes. It had been a flat start from Wycombe and Abbey were looking comfortable with ball-in-hand, the away team needed a jolt to wake them up and received it from the ever-reliable Harry Tanner. Yes, you guessed it, it was another intercept try. With Abbey on the attack Harry spotted the long pass from the fly half and intercepted the ball, he had the pace to score under the posts 13-7. Another penalty for holding on allowed Abbey to extend their lead once more 16-7. On the stroke of half time Wycombe finally showed what they were capable of. A scrum inside their twenty-two was picked up by the now number eight Joff Forber who fed the ball to Matt Wardle who in turn offloaded to James Shuck. He beat his man and chipped the ball over the fullback and had the pace to outstrip the defender and regather the ball ten metres from the line. He was tackled just short, but quick ball was fed out to Rohan Girling who barged his way over the line to score, 16-12.
Half Time 16-12
This had been far from Wycombe’s best performance, but they were still in the game. The second half started with the Wycs going back to basics and it wasn’t long until they found themselves deep in the twenty-two after some strong carries from Zak Gregory, Ayrton Hooker and Harry Tanner. With quick ball the ever-alert Matt Wardle spotted a gap and went over to score, Shuck made the kick. 16-19. From the kick-off another strong Zak Gregory carry took play into the Abbey half, a penalty at the ruck was taken quickly by Joe Openshaw. With the opposition backing off he took the ball deep into the Reading half unfortunately, with an overlap his pass was knocked on and the move came to an end. Minutes later a penalty for coming in at the side of a ruck enabled James Shuck to extend the lead 16-22. The kick-off went long, and after some kick tennis Matt Wardle’s clearance was charged down and Wycombe were forced to carry the ball over their own line. This presented the home side with a five-metre scrum and after some strong carries Abbey went over and scored under the posts 23-22. More penalties at the breakdown were hurting Wycombe and the big accurate boot of the Abbey number 10 extended their lead with a penalty from the halfway line 26-22. Abbey’s cause wasn’t helped when they received a yellow card for stopping Joe Openshaw taking a quick penalty. Moments later a knock on and then a penalty at the breakdown won by Ayrton was kicked eight metres from the line. An accurate lineout set up a maul which eventually rumbled over the line with Dan Kier at the bottom of the pile of bodies, Shuck made the kick 26-29. This set up a nervous final eight minutes in which Wycombe didn’t get out of their half. A penalty was kicked to touch deep inside the twenty-two and Wycs found themselves defending their own line. In a dramatic finale both Zak Gregory and Matt Wardle were yellow carded. On both occasions Abbey opted for the scrum, but Wycombe held firm and Rohan Girling turned over the ball. With the forwards keeping the ball tight Wycombe were then penalised (according to the players) for asking how long was left. Another scrum was called for but again the Wycombe forwards held firm and the ball was forced to be played by the scrum half. This time a knock in midfield was snapped up and the ball was kicked dead, and the final whistle sounded.
Full Time 26-29
This was by no means a vintage Wycombe performance and Abbey will be wondering how they did not win the game. What was pleasing from a Wycombe point of view was that earlier in the season these were the type of games they were losing. Credit to the players for putting their bodies on the line in the final few minutes of the game and coming away with the victory
MoM – Officially I am not sure if one was awarded but Rohan Girling made a huge impact from the bench. He was on in the first ten minutes, scored a vital try, secured numerous turnovers at the breakdown, and tackled everything that moved. An all-action performance.
