Farnham Rugby Club picked up an impressive 34-14 win at Newbury in Regional Two South Central.

Farnham came into the game unbeaten and full of confidence having done the double over Newbury last season.

Jack Bemelmans returned to the Farnham front row alongside Greg Franzel and Adam Pickett. Harrison Horner made his first appearance of the season in the row. Ollie Brown came in at ten with Toby Salmon shifting to 12. Joe Wigmore and Joe Brockman were back in the side on the wings.

Newbury kicked off with the breeze behind them and started the better of the two sides.

The Newbury packed contained some powerful carriers who got them over the gain line and a breakdown penalty gave them a chance to kick to the corner. Their rolling maul was stopped short, however they kept it tight and their second row barrelled over from close range for the first try.

A penalty just outside the 22 gave Farnham a chance to get on the board, and Salmon kicked the penalty to make it 7-3.

Farnham’s loose forwards started to impose themselves on the game, with Jonny Vincent and Oscar Henderson making a serious of half-breaks.

Vincent broke into the Newbury half before loosing his footing. The ball was well recycled and a half-break from Bemelmans got Farnham to within five metres.

The attack had broken down slightly, however the ball was moved to the left and Wigmore beat two defenders and dotted down in the corner. The conversion put Farnham 10-7 ahead.

The restart went straight out, giving Farnham an ideal attacking position from a midfield scrum.

A well-executed backs move, with good hands from Sam Cowman and Salmon, released Wigmore down the left. He beat his man before chipping over the fullback and dotting down for his second try to make it 15-7.

Farnham’s defence was looking strong, with Josh Watson and Franzel leading the heavy hits.

Farnham had to withstand a bit of pressure before half-time, and a slightly high tackle saw Henderson receive a yellow card.

The visitors dealt with the remaining few minutes and went into half-time with a 15-7 lead.

Farnham had to manage the next seven minutes with 14 men and had the breeze behind them to pin Newbury. However, minutes into the second half, Newbury were reduced to 14 when Benjy Biggs was hit late by the number eight.

Salmon missed the kick at goal, however another penalty minutes later gave Farnham a chance to kick to the corner and use their rolling maul.

The first drive seemed destined for the line before the Newbury second row collapsed the maul just before the line and was given a yellow card, reducing Newbury to 13 men. Farnham went to their maul again and this time Bemelmans powered over in the corner to make it 20-7.

Farnham were now back to 15 and brought on Marco Azevedo and the returning Jack Haylett. Ben Stevens came on for his Farnham debut at fullback for Sam Thomas.

Stevens made an almost immediate impact when Farnham found themselves in the Newbury half. Brown and Cowman controlled proceedings well, and when the ball was moved to the left Stevens beat his man round the outside and ran in under the posts for his first Farnham try. The conversion made it 27-7.

A well-executed backs move then saw Farnham break down the right-hand side.

Despite initially losing the ball, Farnham quickly regained position. The attack was patient and the ball found Biggs on the left-hand side. Biggs broke through and seemed destined for the try line before an ankle tap stopped him short.

Biggs regained his feet and offloaded to his fellow academy graduate Cowman, who ran under the posts for his first Farnham senior try. The conversion made it 34-7.

The pace of the game started to slow, however it was Newbury who got the final score of the game when their 12 crashed in under the posts. A simple conversion followed to make it 34-14 at the final whistle.

Farnham had to battle through phases but their dominance ultimately prevailed as they picked up a comfortable five points.

Farnham will host North Dorset on Saturday, October 12.