TWRUFC 1st XV 24 vs Old Alleynians 43

1st Feb 2025, KO 14:00

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Match Report

THANET WANDERERS 24 – 43 OLD ALLEYNIANS

Wanderers late comeback cannot prevent an Alleynians' victory

Thanet’s Charlie Bailey was unwell and Finn White is no longer available but otherwise, most Wanderers supporters will have been happy with the selectors’ choice. The away fixture ended in a win by one point for Wanderers so a good game was in prospect.

It was a very pleasant afternoon for rugby with sunshine and a gentle breeze up the slope. OAs were quickly on the attack in Wanderers' half and the hosts appeared to have contained the threat before a single missed tackle allowed OAs an easy trip to the posts. 7-0 to the visitors with barely two minutes played. A penalty for a high tackle set Wanderers 15 metres out but the attack fizzled out against strong defending. A further penalty didn’t reach touch near the clubhouse and OAs, smartly passed their way to an overlap on their left and again there was an untroubled run in under the posts. 14-0 to the visitors with 11 minutes played. A well-worked line-out followed Adam Harrison’s long penalty and Nick Herbert was away before handing on to Lewis Downer who also made good ground before being hauled down close to the line. Ben Cannon picked up at the breakdown and powered over in the corner. The powerful Number 8 has been in Thailand since early December and his return was a welcome bonus for Wanderers. So was Downer’s fine conversion from the left touch line with Thanet now 14-7 down. OAs continued to press and Mirams’ big clearance brought welcome relief but moments later a penalty about 30 metres out was slotted by OAs to extend their lead. Harrison’s big tackle slowed an attack from a big runner in OAs backline but with half-time near an individual try further extended their lead. In the final play of the half, some uncertain Wanderers' defence allowed OAs to burst through the line to touch down close to the posts. The conversion made the halftime score 29–7 to the visitors.

Finley Hickmott was on for the second half where he was joined by Marius Thompson who had been a reluctant spectator with injury and surgery for sixteen months. Right wing Andrew Dolan thought he was clear after an interception only to be recalled when the referee blew for an earlier infringement. The opening 19 minutes of the second half were competitive but without score, until the visitors broke the deadlock with two converted tries in the space of five minutes to lead 43-7. With pride and perhaps a try bonus point to play for, Wanderers soon scored with a try for Dolan after a series of wide passes following a turnover from the pack. No Conversion but with ten minutes to play, a bonus point was the target. The third try came from Cannon on halfway who caught a goal line drop out and was near to touching down when tackled. Finally, the ball was spun right and Downer touched down. He was unable to convert with a drop kick but with minutes remaining a fourth try was possible. It came from a good build-up initiated by Thompson who took play into OAs half before the ball was hurried along the line to Cannon on the left near the opposition ten metre line. He made straight for the line before going for the posts, once in the in-goal area. Downer converted leaving the final score at 43 -24 to Alleynians.

The Dulwich-based side is the backup XV for the first XV who now play in Regional One. Today’s half-back pairing played for the Club in their match against London Welsh in early January. Certainly, some of the handling in this game was of a consistently higher standard than any other side has produced this year at St Peters. They were worthy winners today and the win moves them up to fourth place in Kent 2 with a game in hand so they will clearly be a factor in the run-in to the season’s end. There is no game for Wanderers next Saturday: they return to action on the 15th of February with an away match against Aylesford when kick-off time will again be 2 PM. Only five league fixtures remain, please support the team during their five-match run-in.

Image is by Andy Mair, thanks to him for his excellent images. This one shows a tackle from centre Lewis Downer.