Having overcome Wimborne 24 -17 in their first game and winning at Fareham last week in a friendly fixture, Fawley were cautiously confident going into the match on the back of those two wins, but having never faced Farnborough before were unsure of what to expect.

As the game kicked off it became apparent that Farnborough was going to provide a tough challenge, having a large physical pack and some strong ball carriers in the back line. The early exchanges were very even, Farnborough threatening the Fawley line, Fawley's dogged defence keeping them out. Then the first score of many came from some great work by the Fawley loose-forwards, they ripped the ball from the Farnborough ball carrier, scooped it up and shipped it out to the back line. It quickly landed in the hands of winger Darragh ‘Crazy Legs’ Joynes, who outran numerous defenders, before dotting down under the posts.

This set the blueprint for the game and in an impressively intelligent and mature display of rugby the boys played to their strengths from this point. They kept the ball away from the large Farnborough pack and utilised their superior pace in the backs to run in a succession of tries.
Further scores came from Danny May, Ollie O’Brien, Oscar Gilfoy-Hartley, Harvey Emerson and both Team Captain Lewis Asher and Fly-half Finlay Harris helped themselves to a hat-trick. Gideon Nauluatatua added 14 points from the boot.

Despite conceding several tries, Farnborough did not lie down and were rewarded for their efforts with 2 tries of their own. Their hard-running forwards and centres eventually forcing their way through the Fawley defence and over the line for a couple of deserved scores. The score at the final whistle Fawley 71 – Farnborough 10.

As shown by the number of try scorers, this was a real team effort. Despite not getting their names on the board, worthy of mention are centre Jerry Tekei for his aggressive carries, scrum-half Harrison Southwell for great decision-making and quick reactions at the breakdown and prop Owen Robinson for his steam-rollering runs through the opposing defence.

The U15s travel to Ellingham & Ringwood next week, which despite being a friendly fixture, will no doubt provide a stern challenge for this ever-improving team.