Basingstoke went two from two to start their Counties 1 Hampshire campaign this Saturday. Scores from Rhys Fletcher, Oscar Worsfold, Alfie Rowley and Sam Clarkson saw the home side pull through against a strong Farnham II in a real back-and-forth encounter at Down Grange.
From the off there was a clear difference in styles between the teams – Farnham were bigger to a man, significantly outweighing the ‘Stoke pack shorn of George Rowley and Simon Appleby, who brought real physicality in Basingstoke’s win against Winchester II the previous week.
A big ask was made harder after losing Riley Darragh, who was filling in in an already depleted second row. Farnham took the lead shortly after, taking the points from a penalty in front of the posts.
A three point lead turned to ten shortly after, as Farnham cleverly exploited a partially charged down clearance kick. Basingstoke failed to load the blind side, and the visitors took full advantage, executing straightforward two-on-ones to go in under the posts.
The ‘Stoke backline showed their first glimpses of the flair that has shone through in the last few seasons, as they crossed for their first of the game. Tight head prop Billy Maidment’s pull out the back gave the backline the space they needed, where Alfie Beatty’s perfectly weighted grubber found Rhys Fletcher out wide. The young winger spun out of two would-be tackles on the right hand touchline, before making Beatty’s job easier by running in closer to the posts. 7-10 to the visitors.
Oscar Worsfold edged the tie back in Basingstoke’s favour five minutes later, showing there is no substitute for pace. Off the back of scrappy line out ball, Worsfold broke the defensive line just inside his own half, before stepping inside the Farnham defence and pinning his ears back to go the distance.
Farnham had the last say of the half, with an unconverted score coming off the back of a rolling maul to edge their way into a 14-15 lead at the break.
Soa Falekaono was awarded a yellow card early in the second half as the pressure built against the hosts, but ‘Stoke held firm on their goal line to keep the scores the same. The dam eventually burst though – a centre-field Farnham scrum on the hosts’ five metre line had Basingstoke creaking, where the back line folded round and executed a four on three out wide.
‘Stoke needed a response quickly, and it came through centre Alfie Rowley barely two minutes later. Alfie Beatty claimed a bouncing ball in midfield and offloaded to his captain, who jinked through the Farnham defence to dot down under the posts. Beatty’s conversion was successful, taking the score to 21-20.
“You score, we score” was very much the pattern of the day, as Farnham continued to use their dominance up front to lay the platform. Another driving maul saw the visitors take the lead back – this time through a converted score – seeing Farnham six points to the good.
In front of a now vocal home crowd, Sam Clarkson’s first blew the proverbial roof off at Down Grange. Oscar Rowley claimed ‘Stoke’s kick off, and after a single phase through the midfield, Clarkson broke through the middle of a maul to send the score back into ‘Stoke’s favour.
With time running out and confusion over the score, there was still time for late drama as the ‘Stoke crowd watched from the edge of their seats. Gaz Lewis earned the hosts’ second yellow of the day, while a missed Beatty kick at goal denied Basingstoke the chance to extend their lead. Clarkson’s second, however, off the back of some unrelenting carrying from Oscar Rowley and Oscar Worsfold, saw the hosts over the line, with a final score of 40-27.
Elsewhere, the Dragons fought valiantly, but came off second best away to Portsmouth II. A side with several changes from the previous week’s 24-5 win over Winchester III struggled for cohesion, and look to rebuild before their next league fixture.
Next up for our Men’s 1st XV is Andover at home, while our Dragons face Andover’s 2nd XV, but away from home.
