L 29 - 6  Report attached

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

Wymondham returned from a tough encounter at Upminster with no reward for a battling team effort although they will be heartened by some encouraging individual performances.

 While the final scoreline at 29-6 to Upminster may suggest a one-sided affair whereas, in reality, the result was in doubt until the last 15 minutes.

Upminster having won the toss, they chose, as expected, to play the first half up the notorious slope and against the wind, expecting the home forwards to take full advantage of the elements in the second half.

Wilson, playing in the centre to accommodate coach, Justin Loveridge, at fly-half had the first opportunity to register a score after just 3 minutes when Upminster were penalised for straying offside but unfortunately a long kick drifted wide.

Wymondham were soon to concede, however, when, after 8 minutes, Upminster were awarded a scrum for a crooked Wymondham throw into the lineout. Upminster, who claimed dominance in the scrum with their large pack, controlled the ball well before spinning it out to their backs who finished in routine fashion to leave an easy conversion. 7-0 to Upminster.

Over the next 20 minutes there were penalty opportunities for both sides but neither kicker could take advantage with a tricky wind making life difficult.

With half-time approaching, Wymondham were having a fair share of possession and their defence were keeping out the home team when they again suffered for their lack of bulk up front. Upminster were awarded a five metre scrum when they were held up over the try line and easily drove the Wymondham forwards over the line to claim their second try which was duly converted to leave the score at the break   14-0 to Upminster.

Hooker Masters, who had been unwell all week, was replaced at half-time.

The first 15 minutes of the second half were evenly contested but, on the hour mark, Wymondham suffered a blow when hard- tackling captain, Pena Sokia, was forced to retire with a knee injury.

Shortly after, Wymondham recorded their first score when Sims, who had taken over the kicking duties, slotted a penalty after Upminster had been caught offside.

The Red and Blacks now began to come into their own with Loveridge showing his pedigree with some fine kicks from hand while superbly marshalling his back line. The forwards were delivering quick ball and the backs were pulling Upminster from side to side across the field.

Upminster were forced to transgress to slow down the ruck ball and conceded a penalty in front of the posts for handling in the ruck from which Sims duly bagged the 3 points to make the score 14-6.

At this point Wymondham were beginning to think that they could return to Norfolk with some reward but almost immediately they were caught offside in the centre and from the penalty Upminster increased their lead to 17-6.

Unfortunately, the pressure began to tell on the pack and with the match moving into the last 10 minutes, Upminster won a scrum against the head and the impressive home Number 8 broke towards the line and, although tackled, managed to offload to his second row who scored under the posts. With the successful conversion, the score moved to 22-6.

This score re-energised the home side and, for the first time in the match, they began to dominate the visitors until, with time running out, their fly-half spotted a gap and broke and although his pass went to ground, the Upminster winger retrieved the ball and powered over the line for a try which, with the successful conversion, left the final score at 29-6.

Wymondham will take comfort from the performances of Loveridge and Wilson in the backs and young Anderson-Brown at scrum-half and would hope that, with the return of some of their injured players, they will be able to keep themselves out of the relegation positions while they look to build for next season.

PREVIEW

Whilst Wymondham will have taken some comfort from their performance against table-toppers Holt, they will be only too aware that they have a tough series of matches between now and the end of the season.

Saturday brings another foray into Essex when the Red and Blacks face Upminster who, a few weeks ago, became the only side this season to beat Holt.

The lower reaches of the table are becoming increasingly congested with only four points separating the four teams immediately above the relegation zone and Wymondham will be trying their hardest to avoid being sucked into the dog fight.

The away side will need to be at their sharpest to come away with anything from this match and will also need to be aware of the tactics necessary to counteract the infamous slope which sees the pitch fall away steeply at one corner. Upminster, as Holt know to their cost, have long since learned how to exploit the topography with driving mauls and set scrums down the slope and consequently are a formidable side on their own territory. 

The Wymondham coaches were delaying final selection until after Thursday training as there were some injury doubts and they will, no doubt, take account of performances they witnessed in last week’s 2^nd XV friendly against Broadland and Great Yarmouth.

For the first time this season, both coaches may figure in the team with Loveridge looking set for a place in the backs and Turner occupying a back row berth while influential second rower Josh Wright will face a late fitness test.

 Winger David Martin is gradually stepping up his training after a nasty hip injury and may make a welcome return to first team action although this is likely to be as a replacement while young scrum-half, Anderson-Brown, is also in contention having returned from injury.

Wymondham (From):  D Canning, T Masters, N Brown,  J Wright, D Blake, A Turner, S Hodgson, B O'Sullivan, H Anderson-Brown, J Loveridge, A Brugger, P Sokia (Capt.), T Wilson, R Dodds, S Simms, J Stuart, J Wyatt, D Martin.

Direction to Upminster Rugby Club CLICK HERE