Wells travelled to Cambridgeshire to compete in their last game of the season against a Shelford side they had defeated 39-19 in their first home game of their new campaign in London and SE Premier Division. The temperature was in the low 20’s as they ran out on Shelford’s new artificial grass pitch. Wells had secured their impressive 5th place in this the highest league they have played in the week before and Shelford had guaranteed survival with a big win against Sutton and Epsom.

The first half was a relatively even one with Wells not really at their best in attack but with their defence causing a number of spill ages and turnovers from their hosts. Scrums were even but again Wells had trouble securing their own ball at offensive line outs.
Shelford were on the large electronic scoreboard first as fly half Josh Simmons made no mistake 3-0 7 minutes. Wells though stuck manfully to the task with an intent to move the ball wide which saw them run the ball down the right in a counter attack before moving the ball inside for Mike Hathaway to get the touch down and Frank Reynolds the conversion 3-7 on 16 minutes.
Possession continued to ebb and flow with Wells defending several rolling mauls.

Things remained this way until the referee took exception to events at a break down on 23 minutes when Luke Hawkins the Wells hooker and Aki Lea the Shelford 8 were both shown yellow cards. This opened the game up and on 28 minutes Anzelu Tuitavuki the home left wing scored from the halfway line with Simmons missing the conversion 8-7.

With both players safely back on the pitch Frank Reynolds took a simple penalty opportunity on 33 minutes to restore the Wells lead which remained the score at halftime 8-10 to the visitors.

At the restart Wells continued in contention holding up the Shelford pack over the line and initiating some good yards in attack. Despite going behind to a Simmons try and conversion on 52 minutes 15-10 the game was still in the balance but opportunities were not so frequent as Simmons put Wells under aerial bombardment. Nevertheless Max Hobbs went close on the right and then Wells moved the ball right to create the extra man. Often games are won with an inspired moment and home right wing Charlie Parkhouse seized it as he intercepted only 10 metres from his own try line to score under the posts withSimmons converting on 62 minutes 22-10. From then onwards this was a task too far for Wells as they strove to deliver a sixth successive win and with a further yellow card for impeding conceded a final try which brought Shelford the bonus on 80 minutes. 27-10.

This defeat can in no way though undermine the most successful season for Tunbridge Wells playing at RFU Level 5 for the first time as they end up in 5 th place from the 13 sides competing.

Credit must go to the squad in general, the coaching team of Simon Whatling, Dave Allen and Mike Whatman and to the team management of Chairman John Crees and Team Manager Michelle Greenall not forgetting the work of Will Thorpe up until the end of January.
Now comes a rest before the town side looks to improve on this showing in 2018/19.

Squad: Ben Williams, Luke Hawkins, Brendan Crosilla, Carl Straeche, Adam Webb, Christian Earle, Toby Talbot, Mike Hathaway, Nick Doherty, Mac Popham, Max Douch, Frank Reynolds, Blaise Salle, Mike Doherty, Shadyn Osgood, Max Hobbs, Matt Spicer, Ryan Taylor – Dennehy.

TWRFC – Shelford – 21st April 2018

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Wells fielded the same starting 15 as they had in winning at Westcliff last week but brought Academy product Toby Talbot onto the bench with Kyle McGarvie. Conditions were at last firm under foot and warm sunshine greeted both sides. The visitors needed a win to bolster their chances of surviving at this level for the 2018/19 season and begun the game looking like the win was more important to them than it did to Wells. This was to be the story of the first half as despite Frank Reynolds putting the home side in front with a penalty on 17 minutes little else went right for the town side in the first 40 minutes as the G’s took a firm grip on proceedings aided and abetted by wayward kicking, and a failure to secure line out ball from Wells.

With territory and position it only took Guildford 2 minutes to respond with scrum half  Bradley Smith cutting inside the Wells cover to score close to the posts and with full back Ali Chisholm adding the extras 3-7 on 19 minutes. Things did not get better for Wells in the second quarter as imprecise passing, and a loss of initial dominance in the tight saw a succession of penalties move Guildford to within range and a rolling maul from a lineout on the left collapsed with Wells adjudged the offenders as the referee awarded a penalty try and Nick Doherty was despatched with a yellow card on 35 minutes 3-14.

With Doherty off Wells looked under even more pressure as Ben Williams joined Doherty in the bin as he was somewhat harshly  judged to have adopted an illegal position as the G’s no 3 George Banks went to the floor. With Wells down to 13  on 42 minutes Guildford rolled again and No 6 Ollie Millward claimed Guildford’s third try following up on the drive. This left the halftime score at 3-21 as Chisholm again kicked the extras and left the Wells crowd -bolstered by the Vice Presidents lunch- scratching their heads as to how they were going to extract themselves from this position.

However, this team has not hit the top 5 in London Premier this year without considerable skill and spirit and having succeeded in holding the opposition at bay for the first few minutes of the second half until back to fifteen they proceeded to reel in the score. First Blaise Salle went close on the right and within 2 minutes Nick Doherty finished off a patient pick and drive sequence halfway out with Frank Reynolds kicking the conversion 10-21 46 minutes.

Wells continued to dominate as Dave Allen used his experience and skill to pick at the narrow channels and suck G’s in before releasing the ball. This gave much greater space to the backs when the ball was moved wide. Skipper Ryan Taylor –Dennehy was next to blast up the left touchline and looked to have scored after a 40 metre run only to have the try disallowed for putting it down in goal but over the touchline. This made little difference to the momentum which had shifted decidedly to the home side as on 53 minutes further patient picking and driving saw Man of the Match Dave Allen pop the ball to Mike Doherty on the straight burst for him to score and for Reynolds again to add the extras which was to prove vital 17-21.

Wells were not finished yet as they exploited an 18 minute purple patch to score yet again on 64 minutes as a midfield switch from centre Shadyn Osgood saw Taylor – Dennehy make up for his earlier narrow miss to run in from 30 metres beating the defence for pace as he scored Wells third try with Reynolds again converting 24-21.

This purple patch put Wells in the driving seat as they regained control in the scrum and started to take their line outs as Mc Garvie came on from the subs bench. With the back row bossing the breakdown Wells were able to see out time despite Guildford striving for those points for survival.

As the final whistle came Guildford got a valuable losing bonus point and Wells couldn’t quite add to their try bonus points. However, soon afterwards it became apparent as Westcliff went down to Hertford that Wells had secured their 5^th position in their first season at this level and Guildford need a win in their last game or they need Westcombe Park to lose in order to survive in this league for next season.

This Saturday Wells travel to Shelford  to play on their new Artificial grass pitch as they conclude the season in the highest position the club has ever attained since the inception of the RFU leagues and striving to keep their sequence of 5 wins in a row going.

Squad: Ben Williams, Luke Hawkins, Brendan Crosilla, Kyle McGarvie, Christian Earle, Mac Popham, Mike Hathaway, Dave Allen, Nick Doherty, Toby Talbot, Max Douch, Frank Reynolds, Blaise Salle, Matt Spicer, Mike Doherty, Shadyn Osgood, Max Hobbs,  Ryan Taylor- Dennehy (Capt)

TWRFC – Guildford – 14th April 2018

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After a well earned break over Easter Tunbridge Wells travelled to Westcliff for the fixture that would almost certainly decide fifth place in the league. Westcliff were two points above Wells in fifth and had their tails up after a good win over Sutton and Epsom in their last fixture. The sun was out, the ground was dry and conditions seemed perfect for expansive rugby, but the early exchanges were all about the scrum.  Wells found it hard going against a very solid Westcliff pack and once again it took them a while to get into the game. With their pack securing plenty of ball, Westcliff’s backs probed the Wells defensive line without success, but they always looked dangerous.

Neither side looked to be on top attacking form, but with defences working well and only a few minutes remaining the first half looked likely to be limited to two penalties for Westcliff and a yellow card apiece.  But Wells had other ideas. With very little time left on the clock and Wells applying sustained pressure to the Westcliff line, the ball was spun out to the back line and Mike Doherty made no mistake for the try.  Frank Reylolds’ conversion meant the visitors edged ahead with the halftime score of 6-7 giving them a mental boost.

Both sets of coaches would have had plenty to say at half time but it was the Wells’ coach Simon Whatling’s team talk that had the almost instant impact. Both teams were restored to full strength and the boys in blue and white restarted with all cylinders firing. They put direct pressure quickly on the Westcliff line and moved the ball efficiently out to captain Ryan Taylor-Dennehy for try number two.  Reynolds’ conversion went wide. 6-12.

It wasn’t too long before Westcliff replied with an unconverted try bringing the scores back to 11-12.  Nerves were jangling a little with the travelling support but seven minutes later Ryan Taylor-Dennehy bagged his second, and Wells’ third, try.  Reynolds’ conversion was unsuccessful so the score still felt too close at 11-17.

With less than 10 minutes to go and the home crowd vocally urging their team on, prop Ben Williams broke through the defensive line. Williams cleverly fed the ball across the pitch to Shadyn Osgood who made a terrific 50 metre run for the bonus point fourth try. Reynolds slotted over the conversion and with five minutes to go the score was 11-24.

Westcliff weren’t giving up easily though and finished the game with a second try making the final score 16-24.

This was not a pretty win, but it was a solid defensive performance against a side that has held fifth in this league for most of the season. A bonus point win is always welcome and with 16 try bonus points and five losing bonus points this season Wells have shown grit and determination in victory and defeat. Wells make it a double over Westcliff and will look forward to meeting them again next season.

Next week Tunbridge Wells welcome Guildford to St. Mark’s for the last home fixture of the season.  Kick off 3pm.

Squad:

Ben Williams, Luke Hawkins, Carl Straeche, Christian Earle, Mike Hathaway, Adam Webb, Dave Allen, Nick Doherty, Max Douch, Frank Reynolds, Blaise Salle, Mike Doherty, Shadyn Osgood, Max Hobbs, Ryan Taylor-Dennehy (c), Brendan Crosilla, Mac Popham, Matt Spicer

TWRFC – Westcliff – 7th April 2018

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