Disappointment as Wimbledon's Unbeaten Run Comes To an End


Rugby Result: Sutton & Epsom 17 – 12 Wimbledon


Alex Pickersgill's early try was a false dawn. Picture: Wimbledon RFC

It was inevitable that Wimbledon’s fine run of good performances would stall some time – it was just a pity that it would be against old rivals Sutton & Epsom, languishing in the lower part of the league. It was also disappointing that, in the eyes of the admittedly less than impartial observer, Wimbledon often came out on the wrong side of refereeing decisions. That said, Sutton made far fewer mistakes than Wimbledon and took their chances when on offer.

The match couldn’t have started better for Wimbledon though when a Sutton fumble from Dons’ kick-off was snapped up by no.8 Mark Scott, shipped to skipper Josh Bayford, then to wing Josh Charles and on to centre Alex Pickersgill who rounded the defence to score before a minute had elapsed. Not unlike last week fullback Freddie Hooper’s first kick went wide of the posts.

Then it all started to go wrong for Wimbledon; instead of the normal running open rugby that has brought such success this season, it all got a bit frenetic and error strewn and, despite Sutton’s pack being put under immense pressure in the set scrum, they took advantage of their visitor’s error count and began to control territory and possession, aided by the frequent penalties awarded to them at the rucks and mauls.

After half an hour Sutton equalised through a well-taken try by wing Cooksammy, fullback Hurley adding the extras with a fine conversion from touch. Minutes later he added a further three points with an equally good penalty conversion.

Wimbledon might well have scored from the re-start but for a deliberate knock-on, deemed worthy only of a penalty rather than a card and then, when camped beneath Sutton’s posts they were inexplicably penalised again and Sutton survived.

The opening period of the second half was more of the same until James Moffat, just two minutes after replacing Hooper, nipped through a gap to score for Dons after a series of powerful drives from his pack, and his conversion from the touchline put Dons 10-12 ahead. Playing better now, Wimbledon created numerous good chances but Sutton’s defence foiled each of them. And then they stole an interception from a sloppy Wimbledon pass in their own 22, raced upfield and put Cooksammy again into the corner, Once more Hurley converted from touch and it was 17-12.

With two minutes remaining Wimbledon looked about to snatch a victory with two consecutive scrums beneath Sutton’s posts; in any other game they would have scored from one of them, but not in this game.

The losing bonus point will be of little consolation to Wimbledon who will go into next week’s home game against Sevenoaks determined to put things right.

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More

This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism.

Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets.

We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more.

However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do.

We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area.

A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site.

One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute.

If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor.

For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

 

November 8, 2021