Woking make hard work of victory but move up to second in table
Woking RFC 26 vs Egham Hollowegians RFC 20
On a bright but blustery afternoon Woking RFC hosted Egham Hollowegians at Byfleet Rec. Playing into the wind first half Woking took a few minutes to hit their stride as once again players were asked to step into unfamiliar positions. As the game developed so did Woking's confidence and they started becoming the dominant side with forwards and backs linking up well to put Egham on the back foot. Evergreen second row Shaun Gilbert caught the eye with some direct running which almost lead to him scoring the first try on a couple of occasions, only to be denied by some last ditch defending and questionable decision making by the officials.
Woking pressure finally told when fly half Watson collected his deftly executed grubber kick to take out the Egham defence before passing to scrum half Baker to go in under the posts. Watson converted to give Woking an early lead to the enjoyment of a healthy home support. Now firmly on top Woking scored a second try through Watson who continued his run of scoring in every game so far.
Rather than press home their dominance Woking deviated from the game plan that had given them their early success and allowed Egham into the game. With frustration growing in their own performance and some decisions not going their way Woking found themselves camped in their own half for the remainder of the half. Egham finally got on the scoreboard shortly before break with a penalty.
Half time: Woking 14 - 3 Egham
The break gave Woking the chance to regroup and with the words from skipper Woods ringing in their ears and the wind behind them the home side started the second half strongly taking the game to Egham. Egham were reduced to 14 with a yellow card and with Woods leading by example Woking made their numerical advantage count as he crashed over from short range. Watson converted. However, good Egham defence, injuries and ill-discipline meant any momentum Woking had built up was once again lost allowing the visitors to work their way back in the game. A further Egham penalty followed and shortly after their first try with a fortuitous ricochet forward of several players that went unseen.
With a sense of injustice about the Egham try Woking struggled to recover the performance levels that had got them in front. With the game in the balance Woking centre Rose was yellow carded for dissent following some questionable Egham tackling. Now in the ascendency and with the numerical advantage Egham sensed the opportunity to get their noses in front. To a man Woking hung in there and were finally able to relieve the pressure with some exceptional running from their own half by winger Henson, who had been a handful all afternoon, and full back McGiven.
Once back at full strength Woking flanker Price scored his first try for the club, claiming a try bonus point, following some good play by the Woking pack. Despite a late error leading to Egham scoring the final try of the match Woking were able to see the match out and move up to second in Surrey Counties 5.
Final Score: Woking 26 - 20 Egham Hollowegians
Jacob Woods 'Once again I am pleased to win but not so much with how the game went. Having started so well and getting in front we should have reacted and managed the game better when decisions didn't go our way. We lost focus and made much harder work of the game than was necessary, but we must remember we are still a new team who can learn from this afternoon and benefit from it in the future.'
Man of the Match: Ross Henson
Next Match: 15/10/22 Haslemere RFC (H) 3pm