TIFFINIANS 20, FARNHAM 17

OLD Tiffinians fly-half Alex Parker had one of those games where everything he tried came off, even in the very testing conditions at Grists Meadow in East Moseley.

His virtuoso display gave his side the edge in an engrossing London 3SW encounter with Farnham.

It was frustrating for Farnham who played well, if frenetically at times. Control was improved and decision-making much better after the previous week’s debacle against Trojans.

The signs were good for the visitors as their reshuffled pack immediately made inroads.

With Dan Williams and Andrew Bond on the drive, Tiffinians gave away four penalties in a row. A superb 60-metre grubber kick by skipper Mike Salmon led to an attacking lineout and another penalty and the captain landed the three points.

The first quarter had been attritional, with solid defence from both sides and play ebbing and flowing between the 22-metre lines.

Then Parker freed up his centres, Farnham were penalised at the scrum, and it was 3-3.

Again, Tiffinians broke out. Farnham beat back the first wave, but the increasingly influential Parker broke the second defence with an audacious off-load to his support runners under the posts. The conversion made it 10-3 right on half-time.

The wind favoured Farnham in the second half and the Salmon brothers kicked astutely for territory under the watchful eye of father Jamie, coach for the day.

Skipper Salmon found touch with an excellent kick, but Tiffs turned the ball over and went for broke with a rolling backs move. They played the advantage after a high tackle and Parker’s audacious 40-metre drop goal sailed between the posts.

Farnham mounted intense pressure from the kick-off and a massive drive by the forwards ended with wing Ed Weeks going over for the try. Mike Salmon added the extras and the lead was cut to three points.

The game was opening up, but again Tiffinians approached the try-line, with Parker held just short. A few phases later, Parker dummied at the base of a ruck and darted over, converting the try to give his side a 20-10 lead with ten minutes to go.

Farnham responded with a series of turnovers and Mike Salmon went agonisingly close with a 40-metre penalty in the swirling wind.

However, Toby Comley rampaged down the left to free up Toby Salmon and the fly-half scored under the posts. His brother’s hasty conversion left time for a final effort at 17-20.

A chip-and-chase by full-back Elliott Rich was swallowed up by the home defence and man-of-the-match Parker finally booted the ball into touch to seal the victory.

Farnham’s podium points: Andrew Bond, Mike Salmon, Fran Meagher.