London Welsh 5pts, Farnham 18pts

“I’ve been at this club for 30 years and that was the most solid and mature performance I have seen from the first team.”

That was the view of Farnham’s director of rugby Garry Stennett after his side’s 18-5 win over London Welsh in the Intermediate Cup on Saturday.

The ‘early sparring’ in the match lasted until the 38th minute of the first half as the wet conditions made ball handling a bit of a lottery. Both sides needed to up their skill levels. After a scrappy first ten minutes, lock forward – and skipper for the day – Ben Adams called the team together during an injury break. He and the wise head of experienced centre and ex-skipper Mike Salmon laid down the plan. Kick for territory, force the mistake, and take our chances when we can.

Brother Toby, full back Jack Scullion and Mike himself put the plan into action with long, raking, often inch-perfect kicks down field.  Scullion, in particular, would receive the ball on his own five-metre line, take his time as the Welsh chase faltered, and boot the ball back to the halfway line.

And so it was that most of the first 40 minutes was played in the Welsh half. Props Marco Azevedo and Jules Jorris made the hard yards from first receiver and also provided a stable platform in the set scrum against a meaty Welsh pack. The back row of Andy Kidd, Toby Comley and Liam Welsh out-tackled and out-scavenged their counterparts and it was man-of-the-match Kidd who secured the first opportunity to score on 20 minutes when Welsh failed to release as Kidd fought for the turnover, but Toby Salmon’s penalty kick drifted just wide.

London Welsh kept coming. They kicked a penalty to the corner and went for the catch and drive. However, Farnham defended the maul effectively and fairly – the bulk of Steve Simmons to the fore. Welsh went through the phases and the Farnham defence was stretched to create a three-man overlap on the left. They spun the ball out wide and the try looked inevitable, until winger Gabe Hills read the play, intercepted what should have been the scoring pass and galloped out to clear the Farnham lines.

The travelling faithful breathed a collective sigh of relief, but some frustration remained. Pressure could not be maintained as the lineouts were erratic – indeed both sides struggled with this aspect of the game. Good passages of play with multiple phases invariably ended with a knock on.

But the deadlock was finally broken on the 38th minute. It started when Toby Salmon saw space down the left and, after a typical junking run, chipped over the cover defence for brother Michael to chase for the line. A Welshman got their first. However, as the Farnham boys returned the 22 kick off, Welsh were deemed offside giving Toby a relatively easy chance from in front of the posts.

With one minute of play left in the first half, Mike Salmon uncharacteristically misfielded the kick-off into touch and Welsh had an attacking lineout. However, Toby Comley challenged for the ball in the air and flipped it back to scrum half Harry Wells who gratefully kicked it into touch to bring the first half to a conclusion.

The second half started well for Farnham. Under constant pressure, Welsh were conceding penalties. Scullion took a shot from the ten-metre line that went wide. Welsh kept the ball alive and hoofed it into the Farnham 22. Back went Scullion to execute one of his siege-gun clearances. Farnham stole the lineout and with the Welsh defence on the back foot, the forwards broke out. Andrew Kidd burst though the defensive line and off-loaded to Ben Adams who ran in under the posts. Toby Salmon added the conversion and Farnham led 10-0.

With Farnham’s confidence up, a slick set move by the backs from the set scrum almost put in Hills, but Welsh cleared. However, they conceded a penalty at Farnham’s next counterattack and Toby Salmon made sure from the tee to pad the visitors’ lead to 13-0.

Back came Welsh, but the Farnham line speed – impressive all afternoon – was their undoing. The ball was turned over and Hills raced down the right. The support was there to secure the ball and almost the entire Farnham team was spread across the pitch to press home the attack. The ball went through the hands to Ian Williams at pace and he released Kidd down the left wing. Toby Salmon’s conversion attempt drifted wide but the lead was a heady 18-0.

London Welsh are a proud club with a long and illustrious past.  They will not lie down. Farnham continued to hoof the ball clear, but Welsh attacks made more ground against a tiring defence. With 18 minutes to go, Welsh prop Mike Blessed powered over for a consolation try.

With five wins from five games, Farnham resume league action with a tricky visit to Eastleigh tomorrow.