Fri 14 Oct 2022
Reading Abbey 7 Wallingford 29
Mark Hoskins
Abbey and Wallingford met under the Rosehill lights for a rare Friday evening fixture in Counties 1 Tribute Southern North. Despite a committed and enthusiastic effort from the home side, the visitors emerged victorious with a bonus point, a result which takes them to third in the table. Abbey, in contrast, are now bottom of the league following a sixth defeat in six.
Two Wallingford players, including hooker and acting captain James Norris, were slightly late in arriving, so the visitors made two tactical substitutions within with opening fifteen minutes. Abbey too had to make an early change when, for the second game running, they lost a back row forward to injury within the opening five minutes. Flanker Dan Smith was the unfortunate player this time, with Max Boucher coming on in his place. This meant that winger Ryan Williams played the rest of the game in the back row, while Boucher looked impressive and lively in the backs.
Abbey soon found themselves under pressure, and their situation was not helped when they lost their first lineout and missed touch when they were awarded a penalty. A Wallingford drive to the line was just held up, and scrum half Darren Hunter’s long kick relieved the pressure for Abbey. Winger JJ Brown put in a dangerous run for the visitors, but he was stopped by home skipper Chris Shaw. Play continued in the home 22, with winger George Goodenough, centre Mike Beckly and hooker Mark Toland prominent in defence. Full back Sol Wallis-Robinson made good ground with a touch kick from a penalty, and after second row Matt Eldridge had won the ball the home pack drove well until the ball was knocked on. The Abbey forwards produced a great counter ruck soon after this, but at the next scrum they were pushed off their own ball.
Despite several relieving kicks from Wallis-Robinson, Abbey remained under pressure, and it was really no surprise when Wallingford finally took the lead after 27 minutes when prop Tom Bradfield was driven over for a try wide on the right. Full back Charles Campbell struck a brilliant conversion kick, the first of several excellent efforts from the kicking tee. In last season’s floodlit fixture at Wallingford he missed several crucial kicks at goal, but it was very different this time.
Veteran centre Arron Ross cleared the danger for Abbey with a good kick when Wallingford attacked from the restart, and shortly afterwards Matt Woodrow replaced Toland in the front row, with Ollie Charlton moving to prop. Second row James Gadd and prop Adam Postlethwaite both made ground for Abbey, but the game continued to be played mainly in the home half. Just after the half-hour mark, the visitors scored again through No.8 Max Suttner, with Campbell again adding a superbly angled conversion. Abbey tried hard to recover from this setback with Shaw and No.8 Ed House both making breaks, while Boucher caught a high kick and made good ground with a jinking run. Twice Abbey were awarded penalties, with Wallis-Robinson sending the ball into the Wallingford 22, but on both occasions Abbey lost the subsequent lineouts.
Charlton and Woodrow both made good driving runs as the first half neared its end, while Ross put in a good tackle to halt Campbell. But Wallingford continued to threaten, with flanker Nathan Chapman proving a real handful for Abbey’s defence. Just before the break Campbell landed a penalty to make the half time score 17-0 to the visitors.
Toland replaced Postlethwaite at the start of the second half, and Abbey were soon on the attack through Wallis-Robinson, who had moved to scrum half, and outside half Tom Bird. There was a brief fracas involving the two packs, and after referee Spencer Pearce spoke to both captains, Woodrow was shown a yellow card. Number were soon levelled up when Brown was carded for Wallingford, and straight after this Boucher made 30 metres for Abbey with a great run. Unfortunately, the visitors pushed Abbey off their own ball again at the next scrum, but good defence kept Wallingford out. Two more runs from Boucher took Abbey upfield, and his excellent tackle on Campbell resulted in an Abbey penalty. Yet again though, the subsequent lineout was lost inside the visitors’ 22. By this time Goodenough had gone off, with Callum House replacing him.
Abbey enjoyed a good spell as the hour mark approached. At last they won a lineout in the Wallingford 22, with Shaw setting up a good drive which was held up over the line. With both sides now up to their full complement again, Shaw again won good lineout ball, and Ross and Bird combined in a promising move. However, Wallingford regained possession, and centre Ralph Smith linked well with the ever-dangerous Chapman as the visitors surged towards the home line. Abbey suffered a blow this point when Wallis-Robinson was binned, and after two five-metre scrums Suttner touched down for Wallingford’s third try, with Campbell missing his only conversion of the evening.
With ten minutes remaining, Goodenough returned to the field in place of Boucher. Wallingford continued to press in search of their bonus point try, and it came when Norris crossed from a driving lineout, Campbell converting. Wallis-Robinson returned to assist Abbey’s defensive effort as Wallingford threatened to cut loose in the closing stages. He brought off a particularly good tackle on Suttner, and after this it was Abbey who looked more likely to score a try. They were helped when Wallingford centre Sam Botting was yellow-carded, and Shaw, Beckly, Ross and Gadd all made ground as the home side chose to run penalties inside the visitors’ 22. Finally, in the last play of the night, Woodrow crossed the line after Wallis-Robinson tapped a penalty, a score which was greeted with huge pleasure both on and off the field. Wallis-Robinson’s conversion ended the evening, with Abbey having at least avoided registering no points for the second successive home game.
This was a spirited showing by Abbey against a visiting side in which young and more experienced players blended well. The main blot on Abbey’s evening was an inability to get the basics right, particularly in terms of securing safe lineout ball in attacking positions. Boucher and Wallis-Robinson both performed especially well, while Woodrow always looked good both in the tight and the loose. With Swindon College Old Boys breaking their duck with an unexpected success at Milton Keynes, Abbey now travel to the Wiltshire club next Saturday well aware of how important a victory would be for their survival prospects in this league.
Abbey: S Wallis-Robinson, G Goodenough (C House 51), A Ross. M Beckly, R Williams, T Bird, D Hunter, A Postlethwaite (M Toland 40), M Toland (M Woodrow 30), O Charlton, M Eldridge, J Gadd, C Shaw (captain), D Smith (M Boucher 4-70, G Goodenough 71), E House
Wallingford: C Campbell, O Newell, S Botting, R Smith, F Harris (JJ Brown 7), J Knight (F Harris 75), J Payne, T Bradfield, J Wood (J Norris captain 15), J Thurston, C Murphy, E Searle (M Riley 41), T Diment (J Wood 41), N Chapman, M Suttner (E Searle 75)
Abbey:
Try: Woodrow
Con: Wallis-Robinson
Wallingford:
Tries: Suttner (2), Bradfield, Norris
Con: Campbell (3)
Pen: Campbell
Yellow cards:
Abbey: Woodrow, Wallis-Robinson
Wallingford: Brown, Botting
Referee: S Pearce (Dorset & Wiltshire)
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