Wells kicked off the first game of 2019 in calm conditions and with a near perfect pitch to play on against bottom side Shelford in this London and SE Premier Division game.
Dave Allen and George Montgomery both remained on the injured list with Luke Hawkins and Jake Caddy replacing them.
The home side started the slower of the two and for the first few minutes found it difficult to generate pace or space as a result. Shelford for their part were quicker but a little lateral in their movement. Nevertheless it was the visitors who looked more like scoring missing a relatively simple penalty on 2 minutes and then scoring a try down the left as Wells lost possession and then completely misjudged the kick ahead to see Lewis Cracknell go in for an unconverted try after 5 minute 0-5.

Wells then had more of the ball but had a tendency to lose possession in the collision.
However, they did occupy a higher field position and on 16 minutes Nick Doherty made a telling burst on the right to feed Mike Hathaway who took the perfect line to score and for Frank Reynolds to convert. 7-5.
Wells continued to create chances going close before a knock- on in the 21st minute and dominating the line out and scrum. Scores would not come, however,due to the spirit of the Shelford team and an inability to keep possession in the loose.
It was not until the last 10 minutes of the half that the town side found some continuity and cohesion as they first took advantage of a poor kick ahead to counter attack with the ball being moved smartly to centre Mike Doherty who carved the perfect outside break and then cut into the posts for the try with Reynolds adding the extras on 39 minutes 14-5.
Finally in the 41st minute Wells countered from even deeper as they turned the ball over in their own 22 with Nick Doherty carrying for 40 meters before passing onto Christian Earle in space who got to five metres before handing the try to the supporting wing Richard Webster in the right corner for an unconverted try and a halftime lead of 19-5.

With Wells playing towards Frant in the second half many on the touchline expected play to be in that direction but the cohesion achieved prior to the break seemed to have been lost in the changing room and despite dominating the set pieces Wells continued to lose the ball in the loose. An attempted clearance kick down the right was executed poorly in the 52nd minute which allowed Shelford to get up steam and feed the ball to their outstanding young second row Fred Betteridge who got over for an unconverted try 19-10.
This try seemed to sting Wells who enjoyed a period of play where with the back row and the pack in general driving forward they pinned Shelford on their line. First Mike Doherty was hauled down 6 inches short of the line and Wells were then awarded a penalty within seconds which they opted to scrummage. The Wells 8 drove over the line for No 8 Nick Doherty to get the touch down and the bonus point try on 64 minutes. 26-10.

At this point most felt the job had been done despite the spirit of the Shelford side.
However, that old friend indiscipline cropped up again with second row Josh Hawkins getting a yellow on 72 minutes. This did not prevent substitute Scrum half Anthony Storkey making a supercharged run down the right touchline to be hauled down metres short of the try line by an outstanding tackle from Shelford full back Shingai Chiwanga.
There was still time for Wells to go down to 13 men for the last 4 minutes of the game as Matt Spicer took an offside yellow for the team as they successfully kept the visitors at bay until the final whistle.

Wells now have to make sure that the all of the ring rustiness from the Christmas break has gone in order to bring back points from third placed Westcliff next week KO 2 00 pm. To do this they will have to play in more than patches as they seek to continue the move towards the top half of the table.

Roger Clarke.

On a very wet, cold and windy afternoon, the Wells visited Wimbledon who are currently leading the London & SE Premier league. Earlier in the Season Wimbledon beat the Wells comprehensively by 52-8 and Wells were adamant that this type of result was not going to happen again. Wells saws the return of Ben Williams, Richard Webster and debutant James Catt strengthening the pack.

Wells kicked off with the wind and pressurised Wimbledon with immediate effect. Only solid defence from Wimbledon thwarted Wells from scoring, with strong running from Catt, Hathaway and Doherty. Good handling in the backs threatened Wimbledon phase after phase. Against the run of play Wimbledon made their way downfield and after 12 minutes saw them score their first try through pick and drives from their bulky pack.

Wells fought straight back through good phase play, direct running and great handling given the conditions. They were rewarded quickly after a 5 metre scrum saw George Montgomery dive over the line to level the scores.

Just before half time Wells were on the attack again pressurizing the Wimbledon line and testing their defence. With an overlap looming, Taylor-Dennehy’s pass was intercepted by the Wimbledon winger, who sprinted away only to be caught on the 22 by Taylor-Dennehy, who was adjudged to have seat belt tackled the player, then sent to the bin for 10 minutes. Wimbledon kicked to the corner and from the ensuing lineout, drove over the Wells line to take the half time score to 10-5.

Second half and the conditions got worse. Wells immediately went into attacking mode and pressurized Wimbledon continuously for 40 minutes. Some strong running by Webster drove Wells forward and Wells found themselves camped on the Wimbledon three times, unable to convert the points by either knocking on or sealing off the ball. The solid defence of Wimbledon held out and the final whistle went, leaving the final score at 10-5. Given the conditions the standard of rugby from both sides was excellent and Wells left, feeling that they let this one slip through their fingers again.

Wells now have a two week break for Christmas and come back in the New Year to face Shelford at St Marks on 5th January.

John Crees

TUNBRIDGE WELLS RFC 1ST XV. 18. DORKING RFC 1ST XV. 3

Wells faced visitors Dorking- one place above them in L and SE Premier league- at a rain soaked and windswept St Marks. Pre match changes both planned and unplanned saw Chris Pentney, Ben Isbell, Richard Murray and Jake Caddy starting with Luke Hawkins joining the bench.
Wells kicked off up the hill with the wind advantage in the first half and immediately established a territorial dominance they would not relinquish all half. Within 5 minutes Frank Reynolds had missed a penalty goal which he made up for only 2 minutes later to give Wells the lead 3-0. Wells from the kick off were immediately back into the Dorking 22 and after a neat dribble by several Wells players kept the pressure on as they drove at the visitors line. Eventually patience was rewarded as No8 Nick Doherty went over between the posts on 14 minutes and Reynolds converting for a 10-0 lead.
With a number of changes already to the side Wells did not want further disruption but got it when key prop Ben Williams and back row Ben Isbell collided with each other and played no further part in the game being replaced by Carl Straeche and Luke Hawkins.
This made no difference, however, to Wells dominance as they continued to occupy a high field position which earnt them a further Reynolds penalty and a near miss from 45 metres from George Montgomery. The halftime whistle seeing Wells 13-0 up having had close to 80% of the possession in difficult conditions.

With the conditions the same in the second half Dorking supporters could have reasonably expected to gain an advantage particularly from the wind but this never happened as tenacious tackling and some sharp break outs kept Wells on top.
Dorking suffered their own injury as a back was carried off with a suspected ankle fracture soon after the restart. If Dorking were to come back they needed to do so early and at around the start of the last quarter it looked like they might as first they were held up over the Wells try line and then had two successive penalty awards in front of the posts but chose to scrum. Wells withstood this onslaught as the pack led by skipper for the day Mike Hathaway won the turnover and got the ball some 35 metres up the field.
With Richard Webster replacing Richard Murray Wells made 50 metres on the left through a pacy touch line run from Mike Doherty. Maintaining the position the Wells pack then put in a succession of pick and drives before Anthony Storkey spotted a mismatch in defence on the right. Quick hands to right wing Matt Spicer saw him in for the try at the corner to seal the game in the 73rd minute.

This was a very good performance from the Wells with special mention for Chris Pentney and for Carl Straeche who stuck to their roles well. Stuart Nicholls throwing in the line out is becoming an art form in wild conditions and backs and forwards can take credit for their aggressive and often offensive tackling. Skipper Hathaway took the Man of the Match award for a huge tackle count which exemplified the Wells performance.

This Saturday Wells visit Kent rivals Sidcup KO 2 00 pm as they look to get higher in the league positions before the Christmas Break.

Roger Clarke.