Oct 22 - LNE3 Sudbury (H)

 W 22 - 19  Report attached

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Wymondham 22 Sudbury 19

From John Mackay

Wymondham recorded their second successive home win but not without contriving to turn a comfortable lead into a nail biting finish. Whilst the match will have been appreciated by any neutrals in the large crowd, the Wymondham faithful would have preferred a more straightforward finish to the game.

Sudbury opted to play into a stiffish breeze and hoped to capitalise later in the game.

The home team started in what has become their customary fashion by gifting Sudbury the first points on the 15 minute mark when their winger ran in a try which went unconverted.

The opposition score proved the spur that Wymondham needed and, just two minutes later, after a good passage of play, the ball was shipped to prolific scorer David Martin who sped down the wing to touch down and leave scrum half James Wyatt to add the conversion.

The Red and Blacks now began to take hold of the game and looked to ship the ball wide at every opportunity to take advantage of their dangerous wingers. This tactic bore fruit when, in the 25^th minute, Alex Brugger, who has been probably the most consistent player in the side, was rewarded with a try which was again converted by Wyatt.

With 35 minutes gone, Wymondham lost their Number 10, Billy Graham-Park, to the sin bin when he was adjudged to have put in a high tackle on his opposite number but the loss made little difference to the home team who were playing high tempo rugby and dominating the game. Half-time score, 14-5 to Wymondham.

The second-half saw Wymondham start as they had finished the first and Wyatt calmly added to their score with a penalty in the 42^nd minute followed shortly after with a further try, this time from full back Simms, who found himself on the halfway line with a huge gap opening up in front of him, and gratefully charged through to ground the ball with a posse of Wymondham players in support should he have needed them. The conversion was narrowly missed and, with the score standing at 22-5, Wymondham were looking for the fourth try to secure the bonus point.

The home side were playing sparkling rugby with the ball passing through numerous hands, quick possession from the second phase and excellent link up play between backs and forwards. However, it was from one of these purple patches when Wymondham must have gone through a dozen phases that they yielded possession and allowed Sudbury to break away with their scrum half touching down and the full back adding the extra points for the conversion to make the score 22-12 to Wymondham.

The score seemed to revitalise Sudbury and, to their credit, they dug deep and began to exert pressure on the Wymondham line. Play had been disrupted by a number of long injury stoppages and, although, fortunately, none of the injuries proved serious, the stoppages appeared to affect Wymondham’s concentration and they allowed the opposition fly-half to score which, with the conversion, left Wymondham hanging on through a lengthy period of stoppage time with a slender 3 point cushion. That they proved able to do so is a testament to their ever growing spirit of togetherness as it is very likely that, in a similar position last season, they would have conceded the game. In the end, Wymondham were grateful for the win and will not begrudge a losing bonus point to a spirited Sudbury side who demonstrated considerable resilience by pushing so hard at the end of the match. 

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

London 3 NE-  22nd October

Wymondham v Sudbury- Preview

Wymondham return to League action on Saturday with a home match against Suffolk rivals, Sudbury.

For the second League match in succession, the Red and Blacks are playing the team immediately above them in the table and, with the difference at only one point, any win would see Wymondham overtake Sudbury and move into a more comfortable mid-table position.

The Coaches will be hoping that the team will put last week’s Vase defeat behind them and, instead, build on their last League game which saw them win comfortably against Upminster.

Training has been going well and some new additions and returning players have been welcomed to the squad. While not yet ready to be considered for the First team, they are sure to provide competition for the established players in future weeks.

The selectors have been able to choose a strong looking pack with Mark White, David Blake and Andy Duckham returning to duty after resting last week. UEA Student, Phil Johnson, who made his debut against Finchley, retains his place in the back row for his first home appearance.

In the backs, James Wyatt comes in at scrum-half after his try scoring appearance in the Vase game while the established centre pairing of Captain, Pena Sokia and Barry O’Sullivan, who has made an excellent start to the season, are welcomed back. There is a slight injury doubt over winger David Martin, who received a blow to the eye last week and Pat Reed stands by to join the squad if he should be required.

President, Chris Williams, returns from a short trip to North America to host the pre-match lunch. On his return, he remarked on the excellent spirit that was evident around the Club, with the players at all levels enjoying both their rugby and the camaraderie in the squad.

A strong looking 2^nd XV travel to West Norfolk while the 3^rd XV entertain Thetford 2^nd’s.    

John Mackay

1^st XV: S. Forton, M.White, D. Canning, D.Blake, J.Wright, P.Johnson, A.Duckham, S.Phoenix, J.Wyatt, B. Graham-Park, P.Sokia, B.O’Sullivan, A.Brugger, S.Simms, D.Martin. Reps: N.Brown, A.Turner, T.Wilson