Old Freemen's Gentlemen's XV Reports 2007 - 2008 Season
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12th Jan 08 - Worth OB XV 34 OFRFC Club XV 5
by Tom Innes
Spectators who travelled to support Freemen’s at Whiteley Village were treated to a long-lost, but strangely familiar presence among their team’s replacements. Was that really Jon Stainer kitted out for action?
After sustaining a dislocated kneecap and severed patella tendon in July 2006, Stainer had been off games for almost as long as an elephant’s gestation period, but fortunately he was moving with considerably more speed, and a few less wrinkles, than a pregnant Nelly.
The former skipper’s return to action – he tested his reconstructed knee for the entire second half – was the main highlight for the away team in an otherwise disappointing afternoon. After three home games were cancelled following Friday’s heavy rain, including a Surrey Shield tie against Old Caterhamians for the 1st XV, most of the 50-odd players selected took the weekend off, with 18 reporting for duty against Worth Old Boys.
The home team belied their lowly status – seventh in Surrey Division Three with just three wins from 10 league games to date – with a committed and energetic display in a fixture that was more physical than an average ‘friendly’. A combination of loose kicking, good set-piece work and regular turnovers meant they had plenty of ball to work with, and they used this to notch three tries in each half.
The first score was cancelled out by Freemen’s when a quick penalty was spun right and Jimmy Williams gave a scoring pass to centre Olly Gotto, who juggled it before crossing the line (5-5).
The try was the visitors’ sole success playing down a slight slope, and at half-time it was 15-5 with Freemen’s Jem Davies disappointed to miss a penalty chance immediately before the whistle.
Any prospect of making a game of it disappeared within 60 seconds of the restart when Worth breezed through for a fourth try, the first with a conversion added (22-5). With the result no longer in doubt, the game lost shape with a series of rolling substitutions, limited control by the referee and uncontested scrums for the final half-hour. The home team completed the scoring with two more tries, while Freemen’s backs had their moments in attack but couldn’t reach the try-line.
Sadly Stainer’s return was counter-balanced by the withdrawal of Freemen’s new player coach with a suspected rupture of his bicep tendon after 50 minutes. The club awaits news of the injury, but there are fears Hart will be confined solely to coaching for the remainder of the season.
Some observers were disappointed that only a handful of the Freemen’s 1st XV squad for the cup game opted to play, and attend training the previous week, ahead of an important league match against Old Whitgiftians this weekend at Ashtead Park (k-o 2.15pm). It is hoped a stronger performance will be in evidence against a team who Freemen’s defeated in November, but who won their last league outing against London Exiles on January 5th by 54-5.
Also this weekend, Freemen’s Merit Table-topping 2nd XV travel to Merton, while the 3rd XV has provisionally arranged a home game v Reigate.
One other result of note from Saturday saw Freemen’s Surrey One rivals Kingston, top of the league thus far, win their Powergen Junior Vase tie against Saracens Amateurs 43-0 and move into the last 16 of the national competition.
Freemen’s XVIII: Hartley, Bird, Adams, Beech, Gummer, Daniels, Hart, Cooper, Ormrod, Davies, Hess, Turk, Gotto, Reynolds, Willams, Stainer, van Dort, Warren-Evans.
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