Witney 48 - Swindon 10
When Swindon scored a try 10 minutes into the second half to bring the score
to 12-10, it was anyones match but Witney responded superbly and produced 5
more unanswered tries to record a convincing victory in dour conditions which
dictated the way the match unfolded.
On a cold and wet afternoon at the Hailey Road, visitors Swindon came with a
good win over Bicester under their belt but a lowly position in the League.
They played with the wind on the first half but the first 20 minutes was all
Witney and they produced an outstanding initial effort. The ball was recycled
very well and Witneys forwards and backs combined to ask quite a few
questions of the visitors defence. Wayne Caffekey, Charlie Bennett and Joe
Rowles were the main ball carriers but from 1 to 15, the players were willing
to take it on and despite the conditions there was some very nice rugby being
played. Swindon absorbed the pressure well though and kept Witney back in
their own half with punts downfield. The back three of Tom Overbury, Louie
Collins and James Monks were kept busy but generally fielded the kicks well
and ran back to good effect. There was some very nice rugby played but the
eventual inevitable knock on would come but given the conditions, nobody
could be surprised. The referee tried to play advantage and keep the game
going but conditions dictated mistakes would happen but fair play to both
sides who tried to play some rugby.
Scrum half Gareth Campbell made one searing break which was not capitalised
on but another from Carl Strutt was. The centre found a gap and despite
getting caught on the 22 support was on hand and the final pass from Henry
Lamb to James Monks was good and Monks ran over for a deserved 5 point lead.
The conversion was missed but Swindon knew they needed points on the board in
the opening half and raised their game. Henry Lamb took a knock to his leg
and had to leave the pitch so brother James slotted in at fly half and Ed
Mitchem came on. Swindons winger came infield and made a good line break
which lifted his team and their confidence began to grow with their big
forwards starting to rumble to good effect. Witney had to defend for a long
period and did so well with the organisation good and the commitment
impressive. Swindons forwards went on a trundle for around 20 metres and
although the maul seemed to have stopped and restarted on a number of
occasions, their technique and patience was good and when their hooker
burrowed over it looked like a try had been scored. However the referee was
unsighted and called for a five yard scrum much to the dismay of the visiting
pack who had worked so hard to get over the line. A lucky break for Witney
and despite a late penalty being scored, with the wind in their favour in the
second half, things looked promising for another two League points.
The second half started well for Witney with skipper James Lamb being
released for a try after some good initial bursts from the forwards with Rich
Kerr, Lewis Griffiths and Tim Muller to the fore. Ed Mitchem converted and
the home side were now really in the driving seat. Swindon responded superbly
and their forwards pressurised Witney into conceding a penalty and a quick
tap saw them run upfield and a couple of phases later one of their backs
charged through and showed good strength and pace to squeeze over, the
conversion making it 12-10 and all to play for.
Witney responded well though and didn’t panic. They kicked intelligently and
followed up with real conviction with Carl Campbell often the first to apply
pressure on the Swindon back three. The visitors were struggling against the
wind and were often trying to use their forwards to make the ground but it
was always going to be a tall order to make real impact as they were deep in
their own half. The crucial try came from a patient build up and James Monks
cut a superb line to race through and stretch over for a fine score, Mitchem
converting.
This knocked the visitors who were now starting to back chat to the referee
and they lost their shape as a result. This gave Witney more gaps to exploit
and they did so to great effect scoring 4 more tries. The biggest cheer of
the afternoon went up for the next try as Ed Mitchems fine break saw him
stopped short but who should be in support but a rampaging Alan Richens and
the prop showed good pace to charge over. Replacement hooker Sam Collins went
on a fine run too as Swindon’s defence became increasingly stretched. Great
handling released Louie Collins and he out paced the defence to score the
next. Lewis Griffiths and Tim Muller became increasingly influential as the
second period went on with Griffiths stealing a lot of Swindon ball and
Muller a real threat in the lose. The final tries came from back rowers Wayne
Caffekey and Tim Muller who along with Carl Campbell formed a very effective
unit at the back of Witneys scrum. They both ran great lines for their tries
as the Swindon defence became more porous and a late Mitchem penalty took the
score upto an impressive 48 points.
It’s the same two teams in opposition next week in the Cup before Witney face
a tricky League run in before the Christmas break.
1st XV
Overbury, Collins(L), Strutt, *Lamb(J), Monks, Lamb(H), Campbell(G):
Griffiths, Kerr, Richens, Rowles, Bennett(C), Muller, Campbell(C), Caffekey
Repl: Mitchem(H.Lamb-20), Collins(S)(Kerr-50), Serle(Richens-60)
VIEW FROM THE TOUCHLINE
Considering the weather, those brave enough to come and watch the lads were
rewarded with some fine rugby and seven tries. There was mistakes ofcourse
but the intent was always to play some rugby and the execution was generally
good against a Swindon team whose forwards especially were typically robust.
The defence in that difficult 20 minutes up to the break was excellent and
although lady luck smiled on Witney with that try from the visitors that
never was, few could deny they were much the better side. Swindon simply
didn’t have any answers in the final half an hour as their defence opened up.
Obviously, there are tougher tests ahead and the real picture of how the
league is shaping up comes at the midway point in proceedings.
