Weybridge Vandals Owls produced another committed squad display to win what was in the end a tight encounter against Farnham. Farnham arrived with a large squad, numerically and physically, and the dominance the Owls had displayed against Esher in the tight would be severely tested. The Owls were not helped by the withdrawal of 3 players before kick off, all due to unforeseen circumstances, but were still able to take the field with the right players in the right positions. The Owls welcomed back Matt Berry after a long break from rugby and he showed great character to play a full 80 mins on the wing. The Owls were also fortunate to call upon the services of Matt Dowd's two cousins who played their full part in the win.

The first half started closely with both teams looking for gaps around the fringes and Farnham showing they were here to play and attack from deep in their half with a good off loading game. Vandals went ahead with a fine individual try by fly half James Dunne. A second score followed soon after and a third before the break for Vandals to lead 24-0 at half time. Unfortunately Vandals lost open side Olly Sell to a dislocated finger and all of a sudden were facing several fresh legs from the large Farnham squad. Back came Farnham to score 3 tries in the second half. But Vandals dug deep with every player showing great commitment in defence, and a further 2 tries came before full time as well as crucial turn overs on several occasions from Jon Cottam. This was a great win for the Owls, their third on the bounce and the players are totally committed to winning. Their collective work at the breakdown, which at times was fiercely contested, resulted in the space their skillful set of backs required to open up the defence.

Special mention to Fabs who played most of the match on the wing and later in the back row, as well as Bugsy who played in the back row. Both had perhaps been expecting less game time but showed real resilience to play out of position and for an extended period of time. Whilst we lost several players on the day we also unexpectedly picked up Coxy the day before due to a change in work pattern - this was a very welcome email to receive. The side was well led by Matthew Dowd who was quick to lay his mark on the game from the kick off and was straight in to contact with the Farnham skipper after many a year knocking bells out of each other at first team level.

The next game for the Owls is in 2 weeks on Saturday 12 November against Guildford.