Marlborough Rugby – Convincing win over second placed Witney

Marlborough 42 – 5 Witney

On Saturday, Marlborough were going through a Deja’Vu moment. Same place, and another top of the table clash, but this time it was against Witney, but the same result – a win.

There was a good vibe around the Common; lots of supporters were on the side-lines waiting to see if Marlborough could continue their 100% winning strike rate. The boys knew their opponents would be tough. Witney had beaten Marlborough in previous seasons, but this is a new season, a new league and the slate has been wiped clean.

Though it was rather blustery, the temperature was rather balmy for the end of October up on the Common.

The whistle blew for the start of the clash. Marlborough started dominantly but squandered several chances in the first ten minutes, much to the disappointment of the spectators, who were building up a crescendo of excitement for the expected try, which just didn’t come.

After fifteen minutes, the home side managed to score, which began from a winning attacking line out, setting up the maul, passing the ball along the line for Ben Fulton to score a very well finished converted try thanks to Will Grant.

Witney were a very competitive team and put up stern opposition. They had a strong scrum, a very good front five and some intelligent kicking out of hand. They held out until the thirty-fifth minute, when Marlborough had an attacking scrum. Siaosi Feaomefiui (Toti) picked up at the base, tying in the defenders and offloading to scrum half, Will Grant, who quickly got the ball out to Weir Filikitonga, who then passed to his partner in crime, Akariva Seruvatu (Aka), who beat his man to score, which was also converted by Will Grant.

Marlborough had a scrum on the halfway line with the last play of the first half. The backs called a move they had been practising on the training ground this week, which resulted in Aka racing in for his second try of the game.

Half Time: Marlborough 21 – Witney 0.

There was a good positive halftime talk from the coaches. Just keep doing what you are doing.

The second half started well for Marlborough with the skipper, Ollie Spanswick, scoring within three minutes of the restart, from a line out maul which was kindly converted by Grant.

A similar scenario was repeated five minutes later-from an attacking line out, but this time Solomone Aniseko (Seko) was the man to get the ball down over the line and Grant put the cherry on the top with a conversion.

Witney were still very much in the game. They were not going down quietly and attacked hard and persistently, but the Marlborough defence was holding up exceptionally well. The relentless onslaught by Witney and Marlborough’s capability is down to the boys’ dedication to training. The whole of the senior squad has shown this season and they are reaping the rewards.

After seventy-five minutes, Ollie Spanswick scored his second try of the game from another excellent line-out maul. This time, the try was converted by Richard West due to the kicker having an enforced ten-minute break.

Marlborough thought they had done enough to prevent Witney from scoring, but the visitors still had one or two tricks up their sleeves. In the seventy-eighth minute, Marlborough were down to fourteen players when Witney struck with a well-deserved unconverted try.

Final Score: Marlborough 42 – Witney 5

This was another very pleasing win for Marlborough, but there is still plenty of room for improvement. There were several good performances put in by the players, but the coaches chose the captain, Ollie Spanswick, as “Man of the Match”.

Again, there was the awesome foursome-the front row players of Ash Horner,Gareth Smith, Solomone Aniseko and Lemeki Moala, who were truly outstanding. To be able to rotate these four players in the game is a real luxury for the coaching staff to have.

Marlborough’s team manager, Dave Pittams, explained that Marlborough’s newest recruits: Adam Neal and Richard West, have been fantastic additions to the side. He then went on to say, “Centre, Ben Fulton (who is playing his best rugby since joining Marlborough) and his on-field leadership, as well as acting as Vice-Captain due to James Marshall being on the side-lines because of injury, along with the captain, Ollie Spanswick, are playing a major factor in the club’s success this season, both on match days and at training. “

“Weir Filikitonga came to Marlborough as a back, three player, but in the absence of the regular number 13, Joe Pittams, he has slotted into the outside centre position seamlessly. There is also the benefit of having two wingers with exceptional pace in Akariva Seruvatu, who is scoring for fun at the moment, and on the other wing is Callum Hunt, who is another who is now playing his best ever rugby at Marlborough. And the back three are superbly marshalled by our excellent full back, Will Reeve. “

Next week is another unknown for Marlborough when they head down south to Tottonians. This will be the first time the two sides have ever met. Currently, they are in third position within the Regional 2 Tribute South Central League. So far, they have only lost two games, taking some decent scalps on the way – could they be Marlborough’s nemesis, or can Marlborough continue on the same winning trajectory? One thing is for sure, the Marlborough followers will be wishing the week to fly by. They want to see what the next chapter in the Marlborough story is.