First XV
Matches
Sat 06 Oct 2018  ·  Wadworth 6X Southern Counties North
Littlemore
12
20
Wallingford Rugby Club
First XV
Tries: J Greenway, L EugeneConversions: J Edwards (2)Penalties: J Edwards (2)
Wallingford Grind Out Win at Littlemore

Wallingford Grind Out Win at Littlemore

Ralph Smith7 Oct 2018 - 07:03
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Wallingford kept up their unbeaten start to the season with an under-par performance against a spirited Littlemore display.

Wallingford made the short journey up north to Littlemore on a cold and windy afternoon, as they looked to continue their unbeaten start to the campaign.
In selection, Wallingford were without Nathan Chapman and Carl Tappin, but welcomed back John Hayden in the pack and Ralph Smith and Pete McKinley in the backs.
Wallingford scored almost straight away
when Littlemore made a hash of the kick off and gave away a penalty, which Jack Edwards duly dispatched.
With Littlemore slow out of the blocks, Wallingford dominated the opening exchanges, and soon extended their lead when Jack Greenway touched down following catch and drive.
Another Edwards penalty extended the visitors lead to 13 points, which signalled a shift in momentum in the game. With the referee’s whistle blowing regularly and Littlemore’s short but powerful runners starting to punch holes, the hosts began to get a foothold in the game, whilst Wallingford had bit of a shocker.
Despite this, the score remained unchanged till half time, though Jack Greenway did go to the bin late of for a dangerous tackle.
The second half didn’t improve much for Wallingford, who appeared rudderless at times, often kicking the ball away unnecessarily.
In sharp contrast, Littlemore were a team transformed, as they continued to punch holes, and even began to spin the ball wide to stretch the visitors defence.
They eventually scored a deserved score, touching down in left corner after a couple of missed tackles.
Wallingford nerves began to mount as they lost Pete McKinley to the bin and Littlemore doubled their tally as a powerful run through plenty of half-hearted tackles eventually found its way to the line. With the conversion, there was only 1 point in the game.
That sparked Wallingford into life somewhat, and they began to play with more intensity. That said, it was a speculative/panicked/inspired garyowen from replacement Tom Hill that proved the pivotal moment. Despite furious outcry at the sight of yet another ‘aimless’ kick, Littlemore, who were poor under high ball all game, let the ball bounce, and Lenford Eugene was first to the ball. Despite being surrounded by defenders, his pneumatic hand-off kept the would-be tacklers at arms length before he scorched over the try line from 25 meters. With the conversion from Edwards, Wallingford had an 8 point lead going into the last few minutes, which they just about held onto.

This was a massively underwhelming display from Wallingford, but nothing should be taken away from Littlemore, who bounced back from a shocking start to show how they got promoted last year - plenty of hard running and determination, and a solid set-piece to boot.
For Wallingford, sometimes games/performances like this are a good thing in the long run, as it will motivate players not to let it happen again.
There were some strong performances from the likes of Lawson Dallimore and John Hayden, but Man of the Match went to Dan Sadler, who dealt well with Littlemore’s kicking game and made several important cover tackles.

Week off next week, then the tough challenge of Marlow!

Match details

Match date

Sat 06 Oct 2018

Kickoff

15:00

Meet time

13:00

Competition

Wadworth 6X Southern Counties North

League position

1
Wallingford
12
Littlemore
Team overview
Further reading