Sat 25 Apr 2026, 14:00
Farnham Royal 58 Shire Hall 53
We last met Farnham Royal in a league match way back in October when we recorded a very comfortable victory. Shire were able to put another full squad with the return from injury of Jonny Parry and Rhys Stewart and another cameo from Chris Wiseman. This was Rhys’ 150th 1st team appearance and he was looking to record 8 points in order to achieve 1000 points for the club. Shire started strongly but it was Farnham Royal who opened the scoring after just 4 minutes when a poor cross field kick by their fly half somehow made its way to an unattended winger who crossed out wide. The restart from Billy Wigley was, quite frankly, atrocious and possession was gifted back to Farnham Royal. A few minutes later and Shire found themselves 10 points adrift, but this seemed to wake Shire up and a fine move was finished with pace by Josh Ashby who was making his debut. Billy Wigley added the extra points and only a few minutes later, a good break by Matt Margot was finished off strongly by Gwyn Robins. No conversion for Billy but now Shire were two points ahead. Just after the water break, Manzi Murenzi was sent to the naughty step for what the referee deemed a deliberate knock on, and a penalty try was awarded to Farnham Royal. From the sidelines, this seemed to be a harsh judgement as Manzi had made a genuine effort to catch the ball, but his fumble did prevent a try being scored. Just two minutes later from a lineout, Gwyn Robins charged down a clearance kick and put the defender under severe pressure. With the defender at sixes and sevens, Gwyn stole the ball and went over for his second try of the game. Billy Wigley could not add the extra points but now the scores were back level. The 10 minute period of the yellow card were to prove dreadful for Shire as they conceded 3 tries with some sloppy play and suddenly Shire were now 17 points adrift. Once numbers had been restored, it was Shire who finished the half stronger. Firstly, a storming run from Ed Gallen produced his 8th try of the season and this was quickly followed by a try for Dan Smedley who managed to stretch his long arms over the line for his 3rd of the season. Billy Wigley added one conversion to reduce the deficit to just 5 points. Certainly, the warmth of the day was proving a factor as 11 tries had already been scored.
Half Time Score: Farnham Royal 34 Shire Hall 29
At half time Matt Brazier was forced off with injury to be replaced by Jonny Parry and other replacements came in the form of Lloyd Weber, Fergus Bennett, Oli Kidson and Rhys Stewart for Luke Barefoot, Billy Wigley, Dan Smedley and Manzi Murenzi. An early converted try and a penalty by Farnham Royal extended their lead before Chris Wiseman replaced Jamie Pedder. On the hour, Shire fought back when Ollie Homan-Green forced his way over and Rhys Stewart added the extras. The response from Farnham Royal was near immediate with a converted try. The last 10 minutes of the game were absolute bonkers. Firstly, Fergus Bennett ran a strong line and went over, with the conversion from Rhys Stewart being successful. A minute later, Matt Margot forced his way over under pressure to reduce the deficit to just three points. Rhys could not add the difficult conversion, but Farnham Royal were not finished yet when they scored their 9th try. Not to be outdone, Shire finished the game with their 9th try when Chris Wiseman went over wide on the left. Rhys Stewart could not add the difficult conversion and so remained just 4 points short of the magic 1000 points.
This was a superb match to watch with tries galore. Yes, Shire lost the game but did gain two bonus points to ensure a fourth place finish in the league. All in all, this has been a very good season for Shire. They scored 19 more tries and 100 more points than last season which was the best since the 2019-2020 season. Their tally of 14 bonus points has only beaten once before. Billy Wigley was the top points scorer and Matt Margot finished top of the try scoring charts again. Our thanks to all the University students who played this season – their contribution was vital. Looking forward to September when battle recommences!
Final Score: Farnham Royal 58 Shire Hall 53
Tries: Josh Ashby, Gwyn Robins (2), Ed Gallen, Dan Smedley, Ollie Homan-Green, Fergus Bennett, Matt Margot, Chris Wiseman
Conversions: Billy Wigley (2), Rhys Stewart (2)
MOTM: Gwyn Robins - another superb all-round performance
DOTD: Billy Wigley – no yellow card but a couple of woeful restarts!
