With the sun shining brightly in the glorious village of Wheatley, it was the perfect conditions for the team to board the awaiting bus and embark on the long trip out to Chesham. With new fines for being late being implemented, Durbin was the first victim, however his crime paled into insignificance compared to that of Joe and Caillin Taylor (allegedly the latter's fault...). The sun was still shining when we arrived, however the waterproofness of the new warm up tops were soon put to the test as the team went through the now familiar routine. Once done, the team retreated to the changing rooms to pull on the new Purple and White Samurai kit for the first time, with a few of the less athletic players questioning if we had ordered the juniors kit...

Much like Geoff's house in Howe Close, The rain subsided and Wheatley kicked off, playing up the hill for the first half. A good chase by Jordan Hook put the catcher under pressure, who spilt the greasy ball and led to the first of many scrums. A good shove by the Chesham pack put Wheatley under pressure, but the ball was retrieved and after a few phases, the excitement got to one of the Stag's forwards, giving a way a penalty in front of the posts for side entry. Laman started the season how he ended the last, slotted the ball between the posts. Chesham 0-3 Wheatley.

Banton gathered the restart and after some good counter rucking, Wheatley were soon under pressure, forcing the box clearance from Laman. The bounce eluded touch, allowing Chesham's winger to collect and set a counter on half way. a good leg drive from the pack put Wheatley on their heels and a quick ball allowed the Chesham full back to cut the line, Round Hook at full back and dot down in the corner. Conversion missed. Chesham 5-3 Wheatley.

Dan Bland got his timing absolutely spot on on the restart and clobbered the receiver, who once again spilled the ball. Some strong Forward running, coupled with some indiscipline from Wheatley, allowed Chesham to gain some momentum, however the final product was left lacking and Wheatley were able to ride out the pressure and start to exert some of their own, resulting in another penalty for Laman. Chesham 5- 6 Wheatley with 20 minutes gone.

Chesham soon responded with a penalty of their own, shortly followed by another as Wheatley's indiscipline grew. Teh pressure in the scrum was also starting to build and, having conceded a scrum on Wheatley 5m line, Chesham put a mighty shove one to win the ball against the head and walk over the line for their second try, resulting in Ward making the decision to make an early change to try and shore up the front row, bringing in Simon Chadbone in place of Alex Gabbidon on the half hour mark. Conversion missed, Chesham 16-6 Wheatley.

Half time came and with some strong words from Ward, Banton and Laman, it was clear what Wheatley needed to do, Calm down, keep the discipline and work the phases. The message seemed to sink in and soon Joe Taylor and Dan Rule had some space out wide to run into, both making quick yards but without ever breaking the last tackle. It was on one such run that Rule felt the hamstring go, forcing Ward to look to the bench of utility forwards and with the encouraging words of "look like a winger, you'll be fine", put Durbin into the fray.

Play continued much in the same vain as before, with both teams making yards but, with the rain intermittently falling, both sides struggled to make the last pass stick. Again Wheatley's discpline slipped and Chesham had the chance to add 3 more points, taking the score to 19-6.

With ten minutes to go and 16 points down, Coach Ward again looked to the bench to bring Gabbidon back on for Ezra Rees and James Butler on for Caillin Taylor. This seemed to signal to Wheatley that time was almost up and so the intensity started to build and with it, Chesham errors. A moment of indecision soon led to Wheatley stripping the ball deep in their opponents half and some quick hands left Joe Taylor with 2 defenders to beat. The first was dispatched with a hand off, whilst the second was beaten with pace. Laman slotted the conversion from the side line and suddenly Wheatley were within a converted try of winning. Chesham 19 - 13 Wheatley

With some added mass in the pack, Wheatley started to exert some pressure of their own, specifically in the driving maul. One such maul started at the 40m line, and knowing they were in disarray and in danger of conceding a 40m push over, the maul was dragged down on the 22m. The forwards continued to batter the Chesham line and soon the pressure told and Wheatley were awarded a penalty and a line out in the corner with seconds on the clock. The stage was set, everyone knew what was coming. Gibb collected the ball and the drive was on, with Chesham going backwards, James Neal falls over the line, the Whistle sounds and the refs hand goes up...

...to award Chesham the penalty after Wheatley didn't use the ball. Game over, Chesham 19- 13 Wheatley.

Wheatley's disappointment was tangible, however they came up a league and faced a side that finished 4th in this league and came away with a losing bonus point and dreams of what could've been if it wouldn't have been for poor discipline and a lack of intensity in the first half.

The positives are there and we looked forward to welcoming old friends Crowthorne to Holton Playing fields next week for our first home game of the season.

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