Farnham 37pts, Old Emanuel 15pts

A SWEEPING wind blew across the pitch reducing the chill to just above freezing as Farnham welcomed Old Emanuel for the return London 2 South West fixture.

But Farnham weren’t left out in the cold as they eased to a 37-15 win at Monkton Lane.

Farnham started into the breeze and, against the run of recent performances, the scrum dominated from the off. The front row of Marco Azevado, Ben Brown (in for the injured Kouris) and Andy Coutts put the early pressure on the visitors. The referee from the Gloucester Society could have, even at this early stage, set the standard for the scrums as Farnham shunted the Old Emanuel pack back 15 metres. Eventually, with the black and whites keeping the pressure on, a penalty was awarded which Toby Salmon chipped to the corner for the dominant forwards to feast on.

A well-timed lineout created quick ball and the hungry Farnham backs pounced like predators to put debutant winger Tom Cerullo over – after some successful juggling – for the opening try. A great kick into the wind from wide out by Toby Salmon gave Farnham a 7-0 lead.

Old Emanuel responded immediately through their classy back division. Hewitt fed Whiteley who went through a gaping hole in the home back three for a try and easy extras from talented fly half Whiteley to level the scores at 7-7.

The visitors were beginning to click into gear and their speedy back division stretched Farnham. Gambling on the available space, the visitors went for broke and a sweeping attack saw winger Cuff-Burnett go over for a superb unconverted score by the corner flag to take the lead at 12-7, a score which soon became 15-7 as Old Emanuel took advantage of the teasing breeze to play territorial rugby, forcing Farnham back into their 22 where they conceded a penalty which was whipped over by Old Emanuel winger Powell-Voegt.

Stung into action and roared on by the home crowd, Farnham full back Ben Jones broke into the Old Emanuel half and a jinking, powerful run saw him slide over wide out to reduce the arrears to 15-12.

And with half time approaching and their last play into the breeze, Farnham exerted maximum pressure on the visitors and the referee deemed the Old Emanuel defence to have infringed, allowing Toby Salmon to level the scores at 15-15 with a penalty at the break.

The biting wind increased and the rain joined in to give the meteorological advantage to Farnham, which they fully exploited during the second period.

The Old Emanuel forays into the Farnham half were fleeting at best as monster kicks from the Salmon brothers pushed the visitors back time and again.

The first score in the half would clearly be crucial and Farnham were in the ascendancy probing the visitors defence. And it was a defensive mix up and a scruffy hack on which put Toby Salmon in for a try. The extras eased Farnham into a 22-15 lead.

Sensing blood, Ben Adams and Steve Simmons in the row were making good inroads and eventual man-of-the-match Rob Mitchell, who must have carried for 100 metres throughout the match, eventually broke the resolve of the Old Emanuel defence. To their credit the visitors didn’t kick away possession at any stage as they battled into the wind. But they were under too much pressure and they conceded another penalty to the black and whites, with the trusty boot of Toby Salmon stretching Farnham’s lead to 25-15 .

The wind allowed Farnham to pen the visitors back into their own half and so control the game. But Old Emanuel, to their credit, withstood the pressure to belie their eighth position in the league as their talented backs and a tenacious pack of fit and fast forwards contested throughout.

But they conceded another penalty after another successful Toby Salmon kick to the corner.

Replacement hooker Jonny Davidson picked out Adams and the drive was on. This was held but skipper Oli Brown managed to free up James Corlett on the charge and his offload put Michael Salmon over as the lead stretched to 32-15 with the conversion from younger brother Toby.

With the bonus point secure, Farnham could afford to relax but chose instead to give their loyal supporters a treat.

Centre James Corlett received the restart on Farnham’s own 22. He popped the ball inside to winger Eliot Rich at pace. Untouched throughout, Rich skinned the entire Old Emanuel defence to plunge over in the corner 80 metres later to round off the scoring.

The black and whites, back to winning ways, are second in the league with Eastleigh losing at Twickenham. A play-off place beckons and with seven of the 2017 cup final team making their comebacks for the Warriors, the strength in depth is on the rise.

Luke Batten, Dan and Ian Williams, Lennie Jennings, James Trodden, James Franklin and Jason Crabb would improve most sides at this level. Exciting times indeed with Toby Comley, Andrew Naisbitt, Buster Bond, Jemi Akin-Olugbade and, of course, skipper Pete Daly to return, at last things are looking rosy after an injury-riddled season.

Because of a break in the league programme this weekend, Farnham’s next London 2 South West action is at home to Twickenham on February 9.

* Saturday was a proud day for Farnham who fielded five teams, involving 98 players, with wins for the firsts, the Vikings (seconds) at Esher, the Warriors (thirds) at home to Camberley and the Barbarians (fourths) at Racal Decca. The only blemish was L’Escargots (the Vets) losing at home to Richmond Heavies by a last-minute penalty try.