This Saturday 28th September we have:

 

1^st XV – Home to Hertford 

2^nd XV – Home to Dartfordians 2s

3^rd XV – Away to Gillingham 2s

All 3pm Kickoffs 

This Saturday also sees our Summer Ball and if you would like a last minute place (or table!) please contact Michelle

Last weekend’s results:

Brighton 26 Tunbridge Wells 38 (read the match report here)

Tonbridge Juddians 2s 81 Tunbridge Wells 2s 0

Tunbridge Wells 3s 24 East Peckham 56

 

The curtain raiser for 1s this week is provided by the under 8s who will be training and then providing a guard of honour for the first team game.

Lunch this week is a buffet at £10/head and if you would like a place please email Kathy

 

This Saturday 21st September we have:

1^st XV – away to Brighton  3pm kick off
2^nd XV – away to Tonbridge Juddians 2s  1.15pm kick off
3^rd XV – home to East Peckham 3pm kick off

 

Support at our away games is very welcome and if you would like to join the first team in Brighton the address is:

Waterhall Playing fields
Waterhall Road
Brighton
East Sussex
BN1 8YR

Last week both our home teams came away winners which was a great way to start the 2019/20 campaign at St Marks

Last weekend’s results:

Tunbridge Wells 30 Dorking 15
Tunbridge Wells 2s 67 East Grinstead 7

Read the first team match report here

#oneTWRFC

 

 

 

 

St Marks was looking at its very best as a beautiful sunny day greeted  Dorking as Tunbridge Wells’ first home opponents of the 2019/20 league campaign. Wells won two tight encounters against their Surrey rivals last season, before both eventually finished mid-table. 

A crowd of nearly 200, bolstered by the players and supporters from an under sevens exhibition match, were eager to see if the home team could build on last week’s promising away win at Guildford. 

The squad featured two player changes.  In the front row Luke Hawkins started at hooker meaning that Stuart Nicholls moved to loose head prop and Kamil Wiecaszek moved to tight head. Player-coach Aston Croall then came on to the bench. The other change to the starting 15 was the return of Max Hobbs on the left wing to replace the injured Max Douch and Hobbs was to produce a man of the match performance that thrilled the home support.

Wells kicked off playing up the “hill” and immediately Dorking took control of the ball and launched a series of attacks. This his was very much the feature of the first 20 minutes with the bigger visitors going through phase after phase. An early penalty saw their scrum-half take a quick tap and a series of forward drives looked likely to bring an early score but a fine Mike Hathaway tackle forced a knock on. The Wells scrummage was put under pressure at the first set-piece and were relieved to receive a penalty for Dorking not pushing straight.

Sadly, the Wells set piece struggled for consistency all game, and after a line-out was lost another Dorking attack saw the ball spun wide for right wing Tom Hunt to cross in the corner for an unconverted try on nine minutes. 0–5.

Josh Hawkins was as tenacious in the loose as ever for Wells and he created an opportunity for scrum-half Eddie Croft to make a half-break.  Outside half Frank Reynolds then connected with Hathaway and wing Richard Webster inside the visitors 22. When the ball was switched wide to the left an  overlap was created when Mike Doherty fed hooker Hawkins who drew the final man before popping the scoring pass to Hobbs. This was an excellent team try, which Reynolds converted, and was to prove the shape of things to come with the Wells back-line looking threatening throughout. 7-5 on 15 minutes.

Wells were untidy at the kick off but centre Rich Murray did really well to tidy up the ball. However, it was not long before the visitors were again camped deep in the Wells half and it took grit and determination in defence to hold the visitors at bay. The Dorking scrum appeared to have a significant edge but, again, the home team were able to clear their lines when the visitors were penalised by the excellent and consistent referee.

Unfortunately, the line-out was overthrown allowing Dorking to charge back down the St Marks slope. Hathaway and number eight Nick Doherty combined well to thwart this attack and skipper Ryan Taylor -Dennehy was able to kick the ball clear. After 27 minutes, another strong scrum led to a Dorking penalty which was kicked into Wells territory for an attacking line out. After a flowing movement it looked like wing Rory Mitchell might cross on the right but a valiant last-ditch tackle forced him into touch 5 metres out. 

Ben Whale and the Doherty brothers were very much to the fore in defence as the Wells fought manfully to thwart the strong Dorking runners. Taylor-Dennehy made the second of a series of excellent clearance kicks. Soon after Webster, Whale and Hathaway combined to put Wells in a strong attacking position but when the Dorking scrum exerted too much pressure a penalty was again awarded to the visiting team.  Playing down the slope, Dorking would have expected more reward for their possession by this stage and after Reynolds was adjudged to have made a high tackle, they had what looked like being the last first half opportunity to score at an attacking line out. 

However, the  home team stole the ball and launched a daring counter-attack from their own 22. Josh Hawkins secured scrappy ball on the ground  before Croft fed the irrepressible Taylor-Dennehy.  He linked with Hobbs and the elusive winger then beat two men prior to passing inside to the ever-supporting Whale. He burst powerfully up-field before passing to Taylor Dennehy who then timed his final pass exquisitely to release Hobbs. He was able to run around under the posts for a superb length of the field try that was a perfect example of the merits of passing before the tackle and staying on your feet to offer a supporting option. With Reynolds’ conversion half-time saw a 14-5 lead on the board.

It it’s fair to say that the score at the interval did not reflect Dorking’s overall dominance but for their sheer effort and tenacity in defence, and exciting “ball in hand“ style, Wells were rewarded with the advantage.

As the second-half kicked off the home supporters will still have been very wary of the threat posed by the visitors. Indeed, they were the first on attack again and after a Josh Hawkins tackle was adjudged to be too high, Dorking outside half Matt Noble kicked a penalty from 35 metres. 14-8 42 minutes.

It was Dorking who were next on the front foot as they showed ambition to exit their own half but the Wells defence held firm, much as it did all day.  Taylor-Dennehy and Hobbs looked like they might connect for Wells but the ball was lost into touch. However, this was to be a temporary respite for the visitors when flanker Chris Brown seized on sloppy play to steal the ball. Nick Doherty saw Hobbs on the left wing and fed the ball to the flyer who superbly beat his opposite man on the outside before sprinting in for his hat-trick try from 35 metres . The conversion slipped wide but Wells had extended the advantage on 47 minutes to 19–8.

Within three minutes lead had been stretched further and the four try bonus point secured. The Wells line out cleverly utilised the front man to secure the ball and the home backs were unleashed again with Webster taking a sumptuous line through the middle to burst clear from 45 metres. He then side-stepped the full back for an excellent, but unconverted, try. 24-8 on 50 minutes.

The game was by no means over though as Dorking regained the kick off and proceeded to camp in the Wells’ half. A huge Dorking scrummage on the Wells feed earned a penalty and whilst the scrum-half‘s initial thrust at the line was halted it was only at the expense of another penalty. This time Dorking sensibly took the scrum option and a powerful eight man drive gave the referee little option but to award a penalty try on 57 minutes. 24–15.

A crucial moment then occurred on the hour. Wells put in a better effort at a scrum and were able to force a turnover at the ensuing ruck. As Hobbs tried to step away he was tackled high by a Dorking forward and he received a yellow card for the offence. Scrum-half Croft was having a positive game and he soon released Josh Hawkins, Whale and Nick Doherty on attacking drives which led to a penalty and and a line-out just 5 metres out. Unfortunately, miscommunication saw the ball lost and Dorking were able to relieve the pressure.

Wells now emptied  the bench with Croall replacing Nicholls, George Montgomery coming on for Murray and Ben Kennard replacing Brown. On 68 minutes Reynolds knocked over a penalty kick from 28 metres following a tackle offence to extend the lead to 27–15.

The changes in the forwards immediately saw a swift switch in scrummage momentum and this platform enabled Wells to see out the rest of the game in relative comfort. Taylor-Dennehy made another 35 metre break but the ball was knocked on as he looked for support. Despite one last phase of Dorking pressure, they could not overcome the bulwark of Wells defenders to force their way through.

A strong scrum and an excellent Montgomery kick gave the home team field position again and Croft was able to use Whale, Nick Doherty and Hathaway, (who had all been willing runners  throughout) to set up another attacking position. When Dorking were penalised at a ruck Reynolds made no mistake with a simple penalty kick on 77 minutes to seal a win at 30-15.

This was another brave and highly spirited performance by Tunbridge Wells to secure their second win of the campaign. All involved will know that they need to take steps to improve the performance of their forward set-piece but, on all evidence to date, if this can be remedied then the exciting back line that is beginning to take shape this season could prove to be a pleasure to watch.

Whilst the First XV were winning the league game, the Tunbridge Wells “Super Twos” hosted their East Grinstead counterparts and turned in a superb performance to run out 64–7 winners. As Wells look to develop an enlarged 1st/2nd XV squad this was a very heartening result #oneTWRFC

Squad: Ryan Taylor-Dennehy (Capt); Richard Webster, Richard Murray (George Montgomery), Mike Doherty, Max Hobbs; Frank Reynolds, Eddie Croft;  Stuart Nicholls (Aston Croall), Luke Hawkins, Kamil Wiecaszek,Josh Hawkins, Ben Whale, Mike Hathaway, Chris Brown (Ben Kennard), Nick Doherty. 

Next week (21st September) Wells travel to the south coast to take on promoted Brighton, a fixture that has been played many times over the years and is very rarely anything but a tough day out. Kick off is 3 pm and all travelling support would be greatly appreciated.

Elsewhere in the League

Three of the favourites earned back to back bonus point wins. Rochford Hundred beat Hertford 35-7 (to secure their 50th bonus point league win in a row…), Wimbledon won 46-15 at CS Stags and Guernsey defeated Brighton 22-7. Sevenoaks would have entered their home ‘county derby’ against Sidcup with high hopes after an opening weekend away win, but they now know (if they didn’t already) that this league is a tough step up in succumbing to an 8-36 loss. Sidcup sit fourth one place ahead of us on points difference. Finally, London Irish Wild Geese and Tring recorded their first wins of the season with home wins over Guildford (43-19) and Bedford Athletic (43-24) respectively.

Graham Withers

Tunbridge Wells started their 2019/20 London South East Premier Division campaign with a journey to old foes Guildford. The Surrey team won both games last season but Wells finished 4 points ahead of them in the final standings (7th versus 11th in the table). 

This will, no doubt, be another highly competitive season with much of the intrigue stemming from the very different set of teams that will make up the level 5 league this time around. With Sutton & Epsom and Westcliff both promoted and the Essex triumvirate of Chingford, Brentwood and Shelford relegated only 9 of last season’s 14 sides remain. Wimbledon, Tring, Hertford and Bedford Athletic (3rd-6th) will again be joined by Sidcup, Dorking, CS Stags and Guildford (8th-11th). It is very easy, though, to make a case that the five new sides will see a significant increase in quality (and ambitions). 

Both relegated sides – Guernsey Raiders and London Irish Wild Geese – will be very optimistic of “bouncing back” given their significant financial backing whilst the quality of rugby both and Brighton and Sevenoaks play also augurs well for successful campaigns following promotion. We welcome our good friends from the “Mighty Oaks” to the first ‘A21 Derby’ at St Marks on 9th November. And then we come to the “known unknown” of Rochford Hundred who have won 46 league games in a row in two 100% seasons to reach this level…..

Wells have added several new faces to their squad to replace departed players but overall the opening 18 man squad had a pretty familiar look to it. There were, though, league debuts for forwards Kamil Wiecaszek, Ben Whale and Chris Brown whilst returning students Max Douch, Ben Kennard and Eddie Croft were welcomed back.

The visitors kicked off under dry and warm conditions into an intermittently strong breeze. From the kick-off though it was the home side who were on the attack with flanker Oli Millward breaking through before a 60 metre run. It took a strong tackle from outside half Frank Reynolds (who was to have an impressive game in defence and attack) to stop him. However, a penalty was awarded shortly after and home full-back Ieuen Jones kicked the goal from 35 metres out on two minutes. 3-0.

Wells gained good field position but in what was to be an ominous sign of things to come, the set-scrum was shunted backwards and the home team awarded the first of four straight scrum penalties. Luckily this was a game that was dominated by line-outs rather than scrums but this part of Wells’ game also misfired at times.

Winger Douch was a live-wire all game and both he and Richard Murray made early in-roads ball in hand. However, Guidlford were on top at the breakdown in the first half and were able to steal the ball and send a long clearance kick into the Wells 22. The second scrum brought a second penalty which saw the hosts turn down an easy penalty shot for an attacking line-out.The ensuing maul was thwarted but there was a glaring gap on the blind-side which scrum half Bradley Smith exploited for a try, converted by Jones to make it 10-0 on 14 minutes.

Despite the score this was a game that Wells were very much in. However, twice they gained line-outs deep in Guildford territory only for the throw-in to be adjudged crooked. When hooker Stu Nicholls did find his targets in Mike Hathaway and Whale the boys from St Marks showed good attacking intent and on 23 minutes they got on the scoreboard. Skipper Ryan Taylor-Dennehy, exhibited all his skills again at full-back, and an excellent kick-return gave Wells a toe-hold that led to an offside penalty which Reynolds slotted over from 25 metres. 10-3.

Wells were the only side able to string phases together at this stage as the home team’s frustrations built. Josh Hawkins and Hathaway were carrying in the tight areas as were Douch and Richard Webster out wide but Croft was not able to get the quick ball he needed at 9 to convert this possession into points. A third scrum penalty to the home side released pressure but this was only temporary. Douch and Taylor-Dennehy connected with Nick Doherty to drive into the opposition 22 and when Reynolds was presented with another penalty chance he knocked this over. 10-6 on 33 minutes.
Centre Mike Doherty was now coming more into the game and it was the visitors who finished the second quarter the stronger even though they trailed 10-6 at half time.

What Wells needed in the second half was to shore up their set-piece, concentrate and play disciplined possession rugby. Unfortunately, what they got was a repeat of the opening ten minutes. When Croft’s clearance kick taken back into his own 22 drifted out on the full Guildford were immediately on the front foot. Flanker Millward made another half-break before a delightful offload to Jonny Burden saw the centre score an unconverted try after 42 minutes. 15-6. A breakdown penalty on 49 minutes then saw Jones stretch the lead to 18-6.

Finally, Wells woke from their half-time slumber when a superb breakdown steal by Brown gained a penalty on halfway. Nicholls and Whale combined to secure the line-out and Wells threw themselves into attack. Forwards Doherty, Wiecaszek and Hathaway carried robustly before Reynolds side-stepped the first defender and held off the next two to cross between the posts for a good try which he then converted on 54 minutes. 18-13.
Kennard replaced Brown and the visitors were soon back in Guildford territory after a raking Taylor-Dennehy kick was fumbled into touch 15 metres out. The front row of Wiecaszek, Nicholls and Carl Straeche battled hard all game but number eight Doherty was working hard to control difficult ball at the base of the scrum. They opted for an attacking scrum rather than a line-out but to the dismay of travelling supporters a penalty was conceded. There were 20 minutes plus injury time to go so was this to be a key moment? Well, the answer was categorically “no” as Wells were now dominant. They had the lion’s share of possession all game, despite the set-piece failings, and were turning the screw.

George Montgomery now replaced Murray in the centre and he was to have a significant influence in the final-quarter. A thumping Douch tackle and a brave Wiecaszek turnover kept the hosts on the back-foot and after sustained pressure home centre Jack Potter received a yellow card for killing the ball on 68 minutes. The lively Luke Hawkins was also now on for Straeche in the front row with Nicholls moving to prop from hooker. An attacking line-out was gathered in and the Wells forwards threw themselves at the line. After a series of ‘pick and go’ thrusts Guildford incurred the wrath of the (excellent) referee for persistent offside and he awarded a penalty try on 73 minutes. 18-20.

Wells were now looking reasonably assured having gained the lead for the first time. Centre Doherty, Montgomery and Reynolds challenged the Guildford backs who were, of course, a man short. One particularly good 40 metre Montgomery kick helped to sustain this pressure so it was somewhat against the run of play when a turnover and long kick ahead saw Wells forced back to take a 22 metre drop out as normal time ran out. However, this was to prove the catalyst for a brilliant Wells try. The defence held firm forcing Guildford in to touch on halfway but  showing admirable ambition Douch took a quick line-out to Croft who did really well to find Montgomery. Kennard and Luke Hawkins took their turn carrying the ball before a trademark Hathaway surge saw Wells deep in Guildford territory on the left wing. With the defence now severely stretched Montgomery’s vision enabled him to send a cross-field 40 metre kick to Nick Doherty who was lurking on the opposite wing to gather and touch down. Reynolds’ conversion slipped wide on 82 minutes. 18-25.

However, with the lead just 7 points the game was not won and a series of penalties saw Guildford spark back into life. One final attacking line-out veered off the straight though and with a resolute last scrum the win was confirmed.

One of the exciting things about this part of the season is that you simply do not know the strength of the sides around you so it usually takes 5 to 6 games to get a “feel” for how the land lies. What is clear, based on this performance though, is that this Wells squad is big of heart and spirit. This was a fully deserved win (with Reynolds, Douch and Whale to the fore) and at least the set-piece weaknesses are predominantly technical issues that the coaches and players will be able to remedy.

The Tunbridge Wells II XV also played at Guildford with one of the key mantras this season being two teams, but one squad. This team was a mixture of youth and experience (with evergreen 49 year-old Zak Martin adding most of the latter!) but despite taking an early lead through an Ollie Allman try, that he converted himself, they succumbed to a 21-7 defeat. Ensuring an enlarged squad, that remains competitive throughout, is one of the best ways that the First XV can set a solid platform for league season ahead.

Squad: Ryan Taylor-Dennehy (Capt); Richard Webster, Richard Murray (George Montgomery), Mike Doherty, Max Douch; Frank Reynolds, Eddie Croft; Kamil Wiecaszek, Stuart Nicholls, Carl Straeche (Luke Hawkins), Josh Hawkins, Ben Whale, Mike Hathaway, Chris Brown (Ben Kennard), Nick Doherty. 

Next week (September 14th) brings a home game against another Surrey side in the shape of Dorking. Kick off at St Marks is 3pm and all support will be gratefully received.

Elsewhere in the League

There were only two home winners from the seven games. Wimbledon barely missed out on promotion last season and showed they are likely to be in the mix again with a 25-17 win over London Irish WG. Sidcup’s 15-7 win over CS Stags was the only other home victory. Three “newbies” Guernsey, Rochford Hundred and Sevenoaks won on their travels: 20-43 at Dorking, 11-28 at Tring and 11-25 at Bedford Athletic respectively. Finally, Hertford will be delighted with a 24-40 victory at Brighton. Interesting times ahead methinks…..

Graham Withers