1st XV Archived News

Old Wimbledonians 1st XV 31pts - Old Wellingtonians 20pts: Played April 20th 2010

The Old Boys completed their season on Saturday with an outstanding performance against league strugglers Andover. As a result , not only did Old Wimbledonians move towards the half-way point in the final league table , but also consigned a heavy and solid but cumbersome Andover side to relegation. That much-looked-forward -to trip to Andover should not happen in 2010/2011 season.

Right from the start the home side decided the best tactic against a team of heavyweights was to run at them at every opportunity. Early on a penalty kick at goal was eschewed and the ball was spun wide to the right where , after a quick maul and recycle Robbie Westacott dived over for an unconverted try , his first for the Old Boys.The home side continued in this vein , throwing the ball out wide regularly, each winger having a run , all the time the back line being well run by Matt Lucas this week operating at stand-off. The re-appearance of Paul Galvin in the centre following his bout of hardening of the arteries added extra bite to the home midfield and he made several scything breaks downfield.The home side maintained this attacking pressure and from a free-kick centrefield the forwards took the ball on , their superior technique enabling them to outmaul the heavier opposition , which led to Matt McHale scoring a try to the right of the posts which Jason Murphy duly converted. With just 3 minutes to the halftime break the OW defence was caught napping by some good Andover interpassing and a converted try to the visitors resulted. However, there still remained time for the Old Boys to launch one final attack from a poorly returned kick from the restart. Galvin made one of his high speed breaks following some deft OW handling and crash over out on the left. Murphy was unable to convert leaving the midgame break poised at 17-7 to the OW.

The second period continued as before with some exciting running from the home backs, among whom Richard Travers at scrumhalf was a constant threat to the visitors. When not chipping ahead or going on one of his darting runs his service to the men outside him was exemplary. After 5 mins of the new half, following a good home scrummage Travers picked up and darted over the line for a try which Murphy converted. The Andover side, despite a good share of possession did not offer much threat, although the Old Boys were having to make many tackles on hard running forwards and backs. In this respect Cormac Healy, David Robertson and Alex Prew were magnificent in their defensive covering. One further try was scored by the home backs when a move down the line going left ended with Paddy Donaghy who ran 20 yards, collected his own kick ahead and crashed over the line for a superb solo effort try, which again Murphy converted. However, the home went to sleep thinking the game was over and won. Some lazy defence gave Andover two consolation tries in the last 3 mins to give a rather false look to the eventual 31 - 20 score line.

This result gave a great send-off to skipper David Robertson who has worked tirelessly for the OW, and set a fantastic example of 100% on- field effort. We wish him luck in his new venture as an emigrant to Australia. This match was also notable for the fact that of the 18 players who took part 14 were formerly Wimbledon College boys. A good augury for the future!!

Old Wimbledonians 1st XV 9pts - Old Wellingtonians 10pts: Played April 13th 2010

Once again the Old Boys were pipped at the post by a Wellingtonian side who , despite having the worst of the territory and possession statistics ,kept going in attack until the end.

The Wimbledonians did many good things and took the game to an opposition who were a place ahead of them in the league. Unfortunately the Old Boys never combined well as a team and territory and possession was usually made through individual efforts. In this respect Matt Lucas standing in at scrum half had an excellent game both with his darting runs and astute kicking ahead diagonally for position. Alex Prew and Matthew Bell took all their own lineout ball and this week this area was a strong aspect of the home sides game.

However tight scrum ball always came back slowly and under pressure from the Wellingtonian pack. A half time lead to the home side following two Jason Murphy penalties against a Wellingtonian try did not reflect the overall territorial advantage that the home team had attained.

More of the same in the second period occured although the Wellingtonians threw more effort into attack to secure a win. The Wimbledonians went further ahead through another Murphy penalty although the home side seemed to be tiring after their excellent first half work rate. It came as no surprise when after the visitors camped for several minutes on the Wimbledonian line and dominated the home tight scrum that a visiting loose forward went over for the winning score.

It was great to welcome Matt McHale for his first game for the Old Boys, a testing experience for him, and with the steady stream of recruits from Wimbledonian College coming to play at 1st XV level the next few years should see an improvement in Club fortunes. If the most senior players are just able to hang on for another season or two the younger element of Robbie Westacott, Jason Murphy, Cormac Healy and Paddy Donaghy will then carry the club forward.

Old Wimbledonians 1st XV 12pts - Kingston 8pts: Played March 20th 2010

The Old Boys played their return fixture against league strugglers Kingston on Saturday and secured a satisfactory if unconvincing win.

It was in the interests of the home team to have an open fast flowing game whereas the visitors showed no interest in having anything other than an arm wrestling contest. Unfortunately the Wimbledonians were dragged down to this sort of level for much of the match and on only half a dozen occasions were able to break out and show some imaginative play. Kingston were better in the tight and also won their line-out ball more regularly than the O W s who therefore struggled in two set phases of the game.

The game was only three minutes old when, despite being warned by the referee, the home centres encroached offsideto be penalised. The Kingston kicker was successful.

Thereafter play was even, going from end to end, further penalties being missed by each side until the thirty-seventh minute when following some concerted pressure from the Old Boys a careless pass was thrown out right by a home back to be intercepted by a Kingston centre who ran unopposed most of the way to the OW line before being caught by George Attipoe. After some skirmishing a Kingston player dived over to increase the visitors lead to eight points. The try went unconverted.

Following the resultant re-start the Old Boys forwards forced their way towards the Kingston line where some quickly recycled possession and quick handling enabled Attipoe to score a try in the corner which Matthew Jones could not quite convert. This left the mid-time score at 8-5 in favour of the visitors.

The second period continued evenly with a number of breaks made by such as Jones, Alex Horley and Richard Travers each one failing in turn through a poor final pass or lack of support. The half had extended into injury time when the OW s advanced towards the Kingston line following a probing touch kick from Travers and a successful line-out jump by Alex Prew. Ironically, it was through an excellent driving maul led by Josh Brett and Matthew Bell that the Old Boys pushed the Kingston forwards back over their own line for Bell to claim the touchdown and winning try. Furthermore a magnificent kick by Jason Murphy from near the touch-line secured a splendid conversion. Shortly afterwards the referee blew for full time.

Thus a satisfactory ending to a rather scrappy match, which if all chances had been taken alertly could have been settled well before the end. It now looks as if the Old Boys will be safe in this league for another season.

Fordingbridge 19pts - Old Wimbledonians 1st XV 17pts: Played March 6th 2010

The Old Boys roving reporter rove all the way to deepest Hampshire on Saturday looking for the team to secure a league double against new boys Fordingbridge. However he came away disappointed with a loss which ought really to have been a victory. A great deal of incompetence from the visitors caused the home team to be encouraged to think they could win a game they they should have lost.

The game was only six minutes old when the home side mounted a move through their backs which following some limp O W tackling saw their left winger score behind the posts. This try was converted. After this the visitors seemed to run the long coach journey out of their legs and produced some inventive play with forwards and backs linking well. George Attipoe beat his man on the outside with ease and the inside scoring pass to Jamie Crone, linking round from the left wing, could not be held. Richard Delfino ran well in the open two or three times but the support for him seemed distant and the pressure could not be maintained. Forty minutes arrived with Matt Jones's penalty the only reply to the early Fordingbridge try.

However one careless moment with two tackles being missed by the Old Boys and a good chip and chase in the Fordingbridge centre gave the home side twelve points in first half injury time for a 19-3 half-time advantage.

In the second period the visitors slowly got on top of the home forwards who towards the end visibly tired, although the Fordingbridge backs were often still dangerous. However the Old Boys were not able to add to their score until on the half-hour mark an excellent run by Paddy Donaghy down the right, injecting some pace to the backs, was stopped ten yards short of the line. From the maul following the line-out Alex Prew drove over the home line for Jones to convert.

A sense of urgency and a possible victory now came into the OWs thinking and they attacked from every field position, and another scoring pass was dropped by an OW back with the line at his mercy.

Worse than this some ill-discipline crept into the visitors play and the home team were able to keep clearing their lines to touch.

However, on forty minutes Matt Lucas, noticing that the opposing No 8 was sin-binned, darted round the blind-side for an opportunist try which Jones again converted to keep his 100% match kicking record intact.

Despite some frantic last minute pressure, including some mazy running from Jason Murphy, the OWs were not able to grab a narrowly deserved victory.

Other than in the final few tense minutes it was noticeable that the Old Boys discipline was greatly improved and little ground was sacrificed by illegal play giving penalties away.

Old Wimbledonians 1st XV 14pts - Ellingham & Ringwood 0pts: Played February 20th 2010

The Old Wimbledonians secured their first victory in four matches against their New Forest opponents and in the process attained only their first clean sheet in three seasons.

Their defensive tackling was magnificient and well marshalled by skipper David Robertson despite his being given a ten minute break by by a referee who objected to him preventing release of the ball. Also prominent in frequent defensive action were Alex Prew and Matt Jones, although all played a full part.

However the reason that so much defence occurred was not so impressive. The OW pack was so ill disciplined that not only was the good ground gained usually given away by niggling offences but also frustrated the patience of a long suffering referee. This weakness must be attended to and quickly; better kickers will punish the OWs. The home team were also helped by a poor halfback performance by the visitors plus their extremely poor handling.

The first half was evenly fought; both sided threatened in turn but only the OWs were able to cross their opponents line with the ball. However they were denied the try. The only points in this half were from the boot of Matt Jones who this week brought his kicking boots rather than those of the gardening variety last week. With three successful penalties Jones has taken his season's total to 91. At half-time the OWs led by 9-0.

The home side had the best possible start to the second period following some excellent team work, going through several phases of re-cycled possession Robertson forced his way over in the right corner, being given the final push by a quick thinking Matt Bell. The conversion kick failed.

Instead of getting further on top as a result of this early pschycological score the Old Wimbledonians allowed themselves to be drawn into a forward maul instead of spreading the ball to the dangerous wingers George Attipoe and Paddy Donaghy.

The Ellingham forwards were encouraged to raise their game and despite a fourteen point lead the home team had to soak up much pressure and and many five-yard scrums. That they survived owed much to a strong team spirt and sheer bravery. No more scores accrued and the matched with a good win to the Old Wimbledonians.

In the final 10/15 minutes the fresh legs of John Crompton and Richard Delfino gave gave the Old Boys extra energy and forward impetus. The home team ended the match with an excellent driving maul down the middle of the pitch.

Old Paulines 13pts - Old Wimbledonians 1st XV 13pts: Played February 13th 2010

The OWs played the return match against struggling Old Paulines on Saturday having won the earlier encounter with some ease. This time however they were not at all convincing in scraping a draw in the dying minutes of a poor game.

The match started with the Paulines looking dangerous but once the visitors had spotted the pass back inside from the stand-off to either the full-back or the second row coming through on the burst they began to get on top. After twenty minutes quickly recycled ball from a ruck sent the ball down the OW line and with an incursion from Jamie Crone from full-back the score-line was opened. However ,the conversion was not made. Play was generally even , but scrappy and the OWs were not able to get on top of the home side's forwards. In fact Paulines came back and notched two penalty goals, the latter on the stroke of half-time to give them the interval lead.

The second-half saw the play much in the same vein , although the visitors did reclaim the lead with a penalty from Matt Jones for lying on the ball. However despite having seen in the first half what was probably the best way to score on a wide Pauline pitch the same tactic was never employed again.

Rather against the run of play on the half-hour Paulines sent a loose ball along their line to the speedy left winger who ran on the outside for fifty yards to score a good try which was converted to give the home team a five point margin. With ten minutes to go some desperation crept into the OW play and one or two silly moves were made. However a good threequarter move to the left in the home twenty-two yard area enabled the quick-silver George Attipoe to stretch over the line in the left corner, too far out for the conversion to be made.

However a fortunate draw was just about deserved in a poor game of rugby.

It was a pity that OWs were missing so many key players , but with three tough league matches in the next three weeks it will not be possible for squad players to take Saturdays off and leave a weakened team and we must hope that injured players will recover quickly. It was great to welcome Alex Horley back from injury for his first game since 14th November.

Old Wimbledonians 1st XV 14pts - Sandown & Shanklin 10pts: Played February 6th 2010

The Old Wimbledonians ended a run of four successive league defeats on Saturday with a hard earned victory over third placed Sandown & Shanklin.

This was their first win since December 5th last. Still missing seven or eight first team regulars the several stand-ins performed with great heart and some of the inter-passing among backs and forwards looked straight off the training ground. However once again the old fault of giving away too many unnecessary penalties caused loss of hard won territory.

From the start the home forwards tore into the opposition not allowing them to settle after their journey from deepest Hampshire. Skipper David Robertson was in the thick of everything; at his harrying best and was closely followed by Alex Prew.

Two early penalties were secured the first saw a missed goal attempt by Matt Jones and from the second a touch kick to gain territory. However,after ten minutes a strong run by Francis D'Souza, with ball passed to Jones and on to Robertson saw a visiting forward lying on the ball in the ensuing ruck. Jones neatly kicked the penalty.

However,after a further ten minutes the visitors equalled the scores with a penalty for a like OW offence. Play went from end to end with both sides using their backs where possible each team threatening in turn.

George Attipoe and Tom Wheeler were prominent in the home team's attacking play. Just on half-time a quickly taken penalty , a drive and quick second phase ball gave the busy Richard Travers a great try to the right of the opposition posts which Jones converted to give the Old Boys a half-time lead of 10 pts to 3 pts.

The second period was evenly fought neither side able to establish a seriously maintained superiority. Tudo Scheibner came on for his first appearance since the earlier game between the sides in October last. He has taken exams which have seriously interfered with his strict training schedules. The veteran Edward Heaver also came on as a substitute for a magic half-hour and gave a master class in No 8 play.

As the half wore on Jones kicked two more penalties to give the home side a thirteen point lead.

However the visitors had ten minutes of superiority which brought them a converted try and the confidence to throw everything at the Old Boys who hung on grimly in the face of such pressure and indeed were themselves pressing at the final whistle.

Old Midwhitgiftians 14pts - Old Wimbledonian 1st XV 10pts: Played January 23rd 2010

The Old Boys produced a much more encouraging performance all round this week in going down narrowly to an Old Midwhitgiftian side lying in second place in the league.

At the first set scrum of the game the visitors put in an excellent shove on the opposition put-in to secure a good strike . Despite then being turned off well won ball which popped out of the side of the scrummage confidence stemmed from this first contact.

Furthermore Matt Jones at stand off put in several searching kicks to either flank which brought wingers Paddy Donaghy and George Attipoe into action and pressured the home defending wingers into hurried clearances. As the half went on the only forward progress made by the home side was through penalty kicks awarded for repeated infringements which sorely tested the referee's patience.

The OWs secured several turnovers with David Robertson and Tom Jepps always to the fore. Two or three chances were created but the plentiful pressure could not produce a score. Then after thirty-five minutes, following quick second phase possession, some sloppy home tackling allowed Tom Wheeler to force his way over for a try under the posts. Jones converted. This gave the visitors a half-time lead of 7-0.

In the second half the home team came more into the game scoring almost immediately an unconverted try.

This helped to raise their confidence and for the next half-hour or so they held the advantage and looked as if they might add to their score.

Several penalties were conceded by the visitors under pressure in the forwards. After twenty minutes the OWs lost Stef DiSilvio with sprained ankle ligaments which led to some re-organisation in the pack with Matt Bell going to prop and Eoin Bradley to the flank in place of Dan Jukes who went into the second row.

Shortly the OWs increased their lead with a well struck Jones penalty to which the home side quickly replied.The OW s then lost Jepps to the sin bin via a harsh refereeing decision but the courage of the visitors only allowed one score another penalty during his absence.

One further penalty to the OMs gave them a lead of four points with ten minutes left. This so fired up the OWs that they spent the last ten minutes of the game camped in the home twenty-two yard area with constant possession from several positive scrummages and from taking several short penalties.

If more players would attend training sessions it would be possible to work out some moves from this sort of position. However despite some darting runs from Vernon Baxter and Richard Travers and further charges from Frankie D'Souza the home defence remained secure.

It should be mentioned in passing that future prop Matt Bell has had his kicking boots with him these last two weeks. After last week's long raking kick ahead to touch this week he produced a delicate left footed up and under which created havoc in the Midwhitgiftian defence and was only luckily cleared.

Old Wimbledonian 1st XV 0pts - Camberley 8pts : Played January 16th 2009

On Saturday the Old Boys failed to take advantage of a home match against a side that had not played for over a month.

Camberley looked rusty, their handling letting them repeatedly, and whilst their forwards dominated the line-outs and tight scrums, they were held by a brave and mobile Old Boys eight in the loose. The OW backs were also sharper and looked to have the measure of the visitors, except that they kicked away too much possession speculatively, a lot of which went down opposition throats.

For the first half-hour honours were even, both sides pressing in turn, but many handling and tactical errors kept returning well-earned ball to the opposition. Neither side was able to build up a concerted period of pressure; each side missed a penalty early on the OW attempt being rather simpler than that of the Camberley kicker. However after thirty-two minutes the experienced Camberley stand-off half put in an excellent cross kick which landed behind winger George Attipoe over the home try line, took an arkward bounce for the Camberley right wing to fall on the ball for the only try of the match. All this time Tom Connolly at full-back for the Old Boys was having a brilliant game, always fielding cleanly and making ground forward on the counter attack.

In the second period the pattern continued neither side establishing a clear cut advantage. The visitors showed little ambition to do other than sit on their lead and wait for a penalty to give them a two score margin. Meanwhile the OWs led by some attacking forays by scrum-half Richard Travers were looking for victory but had no player who could break down the visiting defence. Brian Boundy and Stef Disilvio each made forceful breakaways but were not able to make the ball available quickly enough to to surprise a broken defence.

Tom Wheeler and George Attipoe both looked dangerous from time to time but the home back play rarely stretched the Camberley defence. Skipper David Robertson had a sterling game, being involved in most defensive rear guard actions. With ten minutes to go some illegality by an OW forward gave a penalty to the visitors which was converted to to give Camberley the points insurance they sought and the victory.

Old Alleynians 36pts - Old Wimbledonian 1st XV 12pts: Played January 2nd 2009

In the return fixture against Old Alleynians on Saturday the OWs allowed their earlier triumph to be reversed by a much more physical and powerful Alleynian outfit.

In the first half the visitors gave as good as they got, contesting every ball and even securing several turnovers and spreading the ball to their young wings on more than one occasion.

Additionally Matt Lucas and John Crompton tackled like demons in the centre with Matt Jones at No 10 blotting his opposite number out of the game. The home team were fortunate to take the lead with a 15th minute try following a blatant forward pass out of a tackle.This was not converted. However the visitors were not obviously disconcerted and had their share of threatening possession. Richard Travers was proving a handful for the home defence and made several sharp breaks. One of these breaks round the blindside of a scrum in the home team's 22-yard area brought an excellent solo try to the scrum-half which was not converted. Just on the stroke of half-time a nasty-looking knee injury to Lucas led to his leaving the field to be replaced by the ageless Brian Boundy.

Starting the second period level at 5-5 the OWs could have been confident of a good result. However in the second play of the half an Alleynian centre bustled through two soft tackles for a converted try, following which the home team raised their game and racked up another twenty-four points to one desultory try from the ever alert Frankie D'Souza which Jones converted.

In this second period the Old Boys were thoroughly out-weighted and overpowered. Their lineout was poor with about 70% going to the opposition and the set scrums creaked and what ball was won came with the scrum retreating at a great rate of knots. All eight played manfully and a fair amount of loose ball was won , some reasonable half breaks made by Travers Jamie Crone and George Attipoe which sadly were frequently spoiled by poor kicks ahead. Most of this possession was earned deep in their own territory and the OWS were not able to secure possession within striking of their opponents line.

Old Wimbledonian 1st XV 17pts - Gosport & Fareham 28pts: Played December 12th 2009

Old Wimbledonians entertained top of the table Gosport ∓ Fareham on Saturday. OWs went ahead by a penalty by Matt Jones after 10 minutes. Gosport ∓ Fareham replied with an unconverted try followed by a further try under the posts that was converted. However OWs were not to be outplayed and an excellent referee awarded a succession of penalties to OWs two of which were converted by Matt Jones after a period of sustained pressure by OWs.

OWs were not entirely free of indiscretions and gave away a penalty to reach half time 12 - 15 down but still very much in the game.

However, the Gosport Gosport ∓ Fareham pack changed their game plan in the second half using their superiority in the scrum to keep OWs pinned in their own half and after considerable pressure OWs conceded a brace of tries neither of which were converted.

At 12 - 25 to Gosport ∓ Fareham the game entered the last 10 minutes and OWs, after a good breakaway by the backs scored a well deserved try by Al Prew, who had been dominant in the line out, and was scored as a result of good support play. The game ended with a further attack by Gosport ∓ Fareham and a drop goal scored by the Gosport ∓ Fareham outside half to leave the final score 17 - 28 to Gosport ∓ Fareham.

Kingston 0pts - Old Wimbledonian 1st XV 10pts: Played December 5th 2009

In an evenly fought away match to league stragglers Kingston on Saturday the Old Boys found difficulty in breaking down a solid home defence. Plenty of first phase ball was won , but the home team slowed down the O W presentation of decent 2nd phase ball , sometimes even legally. Once again too many penalties were conceded and in the second half this put the visitors under much pressure ; the major method of progress up the slope for Kingston was to make some long penalty kicks to touch and regain the ball from the ensuing line-out.The Old Boys back line rarely functioned well due to the Kingston defenders being very quickly up on their opponents.

From a nil-nil half-time score a victory was constructed by two particularly well fashioned tries to the visitors. Firstly, some good progress down the slope with the forwards securing rare quick second phase possession saw centre Paul Galvin thunder over the line half way out to the left of the posts. Matt Jones's conversion kick narrowly passed the outside of the right upright. After play see-sawed up and down the pitch for another thirty minutes or so with the visitors fighting grimly to defend their line , suddenly play veered to the O W left , the ball passing through several pairs of hands to winger George Attipoe who beat his opposite number on the outside , deftly kicked ahead and beat the full-back to the touchdown for a superlative try. Jones's conversion attempt once again narrowly failed.

This was a deserved although hard fought win. The line-out functioned well when the ball came in straight , but the forwards had great difficulty in controlling their tight ball and getting it away quickly.The Kingston breakaway forwards and centres were very quickly up and gave the visiting half-backs and midfield little time to settle ; Matt Lucas had another steady game. Sadly two injuries were incurred ; Peter Fokes and Galvin could be missing for a while. Paddy Donaghy had a good game on the right wing with a couple of useful clearance kicks and one particularly elusive run down the middle of the pitch.

Old Wimbledonian 1st XV 18pts - Fordingbridge 14pts: Played November 28th 2009

The Old Boys played league newcomers Fordingbridge on Saturday December 28th.The contest was scrappy and neither side was able to establish an ascendancy for any length of time. Both teams continually made errors in particularly good playing conditions so that the game never got started as a spectacle.

The Old Boys also welcomed back Tom Connolly after a two year absence and Ed Heaver returned after a few weeks.

The early exchanges were evenly fought, both sides making ground only to give it away with poor handling or other basic errors in the ruck and frequent turnovers of the ball. Peter Fokes was always solid under the high ball and with his taking into contact. Early pressure on the Fordingbridge 22 yard line led to a penalty attempt by Matt Jones which he slotted with ease. After nearly thirty minutes play some good attacking moves by the Old Boys backs saw a careless pass thrown wide to the right which was intercepted by the visiting centre who ran most of the length of the pitch to score a breakaway try which was converted.

Almost immediately following the restart the home team advanced downfield and Jones was once again able to punish a visiting infringement. Just on the stroke of half-time the best move of the match saw the ball pass through several pairs of OW hands on its way from the home twenty-two for skipper David Robertson to score out to the left of the posts. The well-struck conversion by stand-off Jones gave the Old Wimbledonians a 13-7 interval lead.

The second period was a dire affair of errors by both sides. The home team in particular gave away penalty after penalty putting continual pressure on themselves and convincing the poor quality visitors that they could still win the game. Not unsurprisingly the visitors came back and after a period of encampment on the home line forced their way over for a converted try to take the lead. For nearly thirty minutes the home side had to wait for a scoring chance, ground being gained and then relinquished due to lack of concentration, kicking out on the full, passing out on the full and handling in the ruck. At last with four minutes remaining some sharp passing out on the left, a strong run by Tom Wheeler and a pass inside to the ever alert Matt Lucas saw the centre over for the match-winning but unconverted try.

Old Wimbledonian 1st XV 21pts - Old Paulines 5pts: Played November 7th 2009

The OWs scored an emphatic victory on Saturday over new league rivals Old Paulines. An efficient business-like performance kept the home team in control for most of the match and brought three attractive tries from a make-shift back line

.

The first half was only five minutes old when pressure from the home team forced the visitors to handle the ball in a ruck, Matt Jones converting the penalty. After twenty-five minutes of play just favouring the home outfit some slick interpassing between Richard Travers and the back row saw Travers go over for a try on the right. Jones failed with the conversion. A few minutes later the OWs increased their lead when Paddy Donaghy cut in from the right touchline to score half-way out. Once again Jones was wide of the mark with his conversion attempt.

For the next ten minutes or so leading up to the interval the Old Paulines came more into the game forcing the home side on to the defensive. Tom Jepps, Peter Fokes and Alex Prew were notable at this time with some strong defensive tackles. Just before the break the visitors capped a good period of attack on the OWs goal-line to take the ball over in the corner for an unconverted try. This was immediately replied to by a Jones penalty leaving the half-time score at 16-5 to the home side.

The second period saw more sterling defence from the home team in which Matt Bell and Josh Brett, making his first appearance of the season, figured frequently in the close exchanges with Prew and Fokes securing some good lineout ball. Both kickers were off the mark with kickable penalties, but with five minutes to go some clever interpassing between Alex Horley, John Crompton and Travers put George Attipoe over over for the final score leaving O W s 21pts to 5 pts victors.

Next Saturday the OWs have a difficult visit to Ellingham and Ringwood who are currently lying in 2nd place in the league table.

Sandown & Shanklin 34 pts - Old Wimbledonians 3pts: Played October 24th 2009

Once again the Old Boys performance on the field for an important league fixture was badly affected by lack of availabilities, injuries to senior players and bad luck on the pitch.

Having travelled with a much changed side that could have earned a vital league win their best laid plans were shattered when our first choice prop had to leave the field within three minutes with a split forehead following a clash of heads with an opposition player.

As a result of this Matthew Bell had to come forward to loose head prop, John Crompton to 2nd Row with Alex Horley figuring in the back row.

With these players operating out of position, Tudo Scheibner and Alex Prew making their first starts of the season and similar arrangements occuring in the backs it was no wonder the OWs fell apart under pressure.

A gale blew from one end of the pitch to the other, which itself resembled a hill-side and far too many handling errors ensued from the Old Boys. Furthermore they tried too many times in the second half to kick ahead into the gale when they should have run the ball back at the opposition. Nevertheless, some of their best play came from Matt Jones, Richard Travers and Matt Lucas in the latter stages when the visitors took the game to the Sandown and Shanklin backs.

All in all the Hampshire side scored six tries of which they converted two.Two tries were pushover efforts , one a good outside break by the local centre but the other three tries were donated by poor OW play.

Old Wimbledonians 1st XV 14 pts - Old Midwhitgiftians 19 pts: Played October 17th 2009

The Old Boys entertained Old Midwhitgiftians on Saturday fresh from their convincing victory against Camberley last week. However , once again late call-offs and injuries incurred in pre-match warm up played havoc with team configuration. Richard Travers once again had to play in the centre whilst Peter Fokes came into the second row as late deputies for Paul Galvin and Tom Jepps respectively.

The first half-hour augured well for the home side who , after going behind to a Midwives penalty for preventing clean release of the ball scored two scintillating tries through Alex Horley. The first followed from a deft left-footed kick by stand-off Jones over the opposition forwards for the fleet of foot Horley to chase and score between the posts.The second flowed through several pairs of hands before once again Horley made the final sprint.

However , signs were creeping in that the visitors were settling down and their much larger forwards were getting on top of the home eight. Furthermore, they looked well coached and combined better as a unit. The home side did not attempt to look for field position by kicking ahead into opposition territory and making them turn and chase ; at the same time running their forwards about the field. With ten minutes remaining to the interval some formidable rucking and mauling brought great pressure on the O W s and their defence was finally breached . The try was converted to make the interval score 14 - 10 to the 0Ws.

The second period was one of continual pressure with the home team unable to get out of their own half for any length of time. Whilst their defence held out , not having their line crossed again, the constant defending and bravery in defensive tackling led to three further penalties being conceded for preventing release of the ball and handling in the ruck plus a number of running injuries.

When the Old Boys can get a full side out they will be a thoroughly respectable team at this level , but we must have square pegs in square holes...

Camberley 12 pts - Old Wimbledonians 1st XV 33 pts: Played October 10th 2009

The OWs went to Camberley on Saturday with a much changed side from that which took the field two weeks previously and indeed from that selected earlier in the week.

Several late changes brought in new recruit Dom Pierce, seasons debuts for Paul Galvin, Matt Lucas and Richard O'Brien, plus returns to action of Tom Jepps and George Attipoe and a return to 1st XV action for Dan Jukes.

The visitors were quickly into their stride giving the ball to the backs regularly, Jones and Galvin making early breaks. Despite conceding two tries to an average-looking Camberley side and taking a while to settle as a team the OW s scored two first-half tries of their own from Galvin and Crompton, playing in the back-row, the latter of which was converted by Matt Jones, to make the interval score 12-12.

The second period started with immediate pressure from the Old Boys only relieved by some useful touch finding by the Camberley stand- off. The OW pack were outweighted at this stage although it looked as if they would last better.

After twenty minutes some good work in the forwards and backs saw the ball with Attipoe who switched back inside to Richard Travers who scored by the posts.

Ten minutes later an ambitious long pass in the Camberley backs was dropped by the centre for Travers to seize the loose ball and score under the posts. Two minutes after this following a good lineout on the left, Travers again made a decisive break in the centre, the ball going through several pairs of hands to skipper Robertson who scored under the posts once more.

The three second half tries were all converted with aplomb by Matt Jones who gave a masterly display at No 10.

This was a most needed and comprehensive victory in the absence of the coaching staff.