WOKING DOWN LEAGUE LEADERS IN LAST GASP THRILLER

With a steely determination Woking kicked off and took the game to Guildfordians who failed to deal with the kick and were penalised. Carl Jacobz stepped up and continued his fine form with the boot to make it 3-0.

Guildfordians responded immediately. Several minutes of sustained pressure resulted in the league leaders going over from close range for a converted try. With both sides fully committed the opening 10 minutes continued at pace. Good combination play and patience from Woking saw them recycle the ball through several phases resulting in them getting close to their opponetns line which allowed winger Charlie Goddard to cross the whitewash. Jacobz missed from out wide but Woking were 8 – 7 up.

Shortly after Jacobz missed the opportunity to extend his sides lead with a long-range penalty that struck the upright. As the half continued both sides had periods of dominance but without making it count. Then with five minutes remaining of the half Woking were guilty of over playing in the wrong area of the pitch as scrum half Lewis Dudley had his pass intercepted allowing the Guildfordians player to canter in for a converted try under the posts.

Yet again Woking responded well and managed to go deep into the visitors 22m. With Guildfordians defending frantically they gave away a penalty. From the resulting set piece more patience and good forward play allowed Kieran Williamson to score under the posts. Jacobz converted and Woking led 17-14 at the break.

Half-time: Woking 17 - 14 Guildfordians

Following the restart Guildfordians showed why they were top of the league as they put the home side under sustained pressure. With Woking struggling to get out of their 22m fly half Matt Ralph looked to break the shackles with a long pass to his back line. Once again, the Guildfordian defence were wise to it and scored from a second intercepted try. Five minutes later the league leaders scored out wide for an unconverted try to make it 26 – 17.

With Woking chasing the game going into the last quarter of the match things went bad to worse as they lost the influential Jacobz to a serious looking ankle injury. Woking were hanging in the match but struggling to break down a determined opponent through a combination of errors and indiscipline that alleviated the pressure at crucial times. Guildfordians were awarded a penalty which was converted to stretch their lead  to 12 points (29 – 17) with ten minutes remaining.

With many on the sideline fearing the game was lost at this point it was not the case on the pitch. Determined and patient play yet again enabled Woking to gain good field position and with skipper Jacob Woods leading from the front the home side were able to break the defensive line. More quick recycling of the ball resulted in flanker Josh Claydon scoring. Stand in kicker Adam Quinn stepped up and landed the tricky conversion to make it a five-point game much to the delight of the large home crowd.

Confidence was now high, and Woking continued to throw everything at Guildfordians, but it appeared time would be against them. Then with just three minutes remaining fly half Matt Ralph atoned for his earlier error by putting a perfectly paced chip behind the defence. With the ball bouncing onto the try line Woking full back Keihlan Watson made up 10m to go past the two defenders and collect cleanly to score in the corner to tie the game at 29-29.

As Byfleet Rec fell silent, Quinn showed nerves of steel to convert from the touchline and give Woking the lead. There was still just enough time for Guildfordians to reply. Thankfully, the Woking defence held out and was disciplined enough to not concede a penalty in range of the posts and forced the visitors into an error that resulted in the referee calling time on a pulsating encounter.

The result leaves Woking in 3^rd place behind Guildfordians and Staines RFC at the top who remain undefeated.

Full time: WOKING RFC 31 -  29 GUILDFORDIANS RFC

After the match captain Jacob Woods said: “I am lost for words to be honest, we just kept going. Everyone played their part from starting XV to those that came on. To be 12 points down to the undefeated league leaders with ten minutes to go and win in it just shows the character and determination of the group and what we have been building at the club.”