On Sunday 15th of November the Alton Under 15’s travelled to Farnborough.

It was a bright day with Alton playing into the sun during the first half. The game did not start well for Alton as a Farnborough winger soon broke through to touch down under the posts, with the kicker converting. However, Alton fought back well, dominating scrums and winning several against the head. Will Foster soon scored Alton’s first try which was converted by Cameron Wicks. Alton's domination continued with Peter Harvey grabbing a dropped ball and diving over the Vectis line. Wicks then scored a terrific try by kicking the ball from outside the Vectis 22, over their line and diving on it. Wicks duly converted to enable Alton to pull further ahead. Alton continued to control the game retaining a fair share of possession and utilising effective backs moves to create useful space. Will Black was the next to score, which Dylan Saralis converted well. Will Hearne, not to be out done then scored an excellent solo try dodging in and out of the Farnborough defensive line but sadly the attempted conversion hit the post. The backs continued to run through their moves, with Sam Welch running some superb lines and scoring despite a broken finger or two. Saralis then drove over from the 5 metre line to complete a half time score of 5 – 41 in Alton’s favour.

A momentary lack of concentration made for a disappointing start to the second half. Farnborough moved the ball out to their winger who evaded several tackles on his way to the try line. While the conversion was attempted, captain Wicks took the opportunity to rally his players behind the posts. This appeared to galvanise the Alton forwards who soon made the ball available to Black. Black, who was having an outstanding debut, created an opportunity for Arran Watkins to claim Alton’s 8th try of the game with the ever reliable Wicks slotting the ball over the posts.

Although the score line suggested that Alton had won the game, they did not take their foot off the pedal with Wicks and Foster scoring two great forwards tries. As the game neared completion, Alton was awarded a scrum 10 yards from the oppositions try line. The forwards again provided a perfect platform for a clean pass to Saralis, who “popped” the ball to Watkins coming from deep. Watkins touched down under the posts and was given the rare opportunity to convert his try, which he did successfully! In the final minutes Hearne went over under the posts for another of his strong running tries, with Saralis making the simple conversion. Final score 74-12. This was a great first league win of the season for Alton and will hopefully provide a foundation for the rest of the season.

Match report by DYLAN SARALIS, PETE HARVEY and JACK PINTO