Eighteen first half points proved sufficient from Wellington College to beat Bryanston at London Irish’s headquarters yesterday evening.
Two penalties and a try from Wellington’s number eight Will Wilson bookended a try from outside centre Sam Aspland-Robinson leaving Bryanston with a bit of a mountain to climb in the second half.
The Dorset based side tightened things up in the second half though, however bad field position left them with a solitary Rory Jennings penalty to show for their efforts, leaving the final score at 18-3.
For Wellington it was a sixth victory in a row and they have now won every match since that two point defeat to RGS High Wycombe on the opening weekend of the season
It is a third loss in five fixtures from Bryanston who are desperately searching for some form and consistency that has, as yet, eluded them. This is despite some fantastic players in their ranks such as Max Clark at centre who was in a class of his own last night – it is easy to see why Bath have been so keen to develop him.
What is a good sign for Bryanston though, is that many sides would have buckled if they went in to the half time break 18-0 down against Wellington, however that Bryanston did not do so, and in fact had the better of the play in the second half, showed that they have the framework and the desire to enable them to create some damage through the rest of the season. With the likes of Clark and Jennings to add some magic too, they can yet have a very positive season.
For Wellington though this is already a positive season, the only question is just how positive they wish to make it. Sherborne are their last remaining opponent before the half term break, a game that Wellington will be favourites for, following that trips to Cranleigh and St Paul’s will be a challenge, while home games against Epsom, Tonbridge and Hampton will be no easy games.
The one game that really catches the eye though is against Sedbergh on the 13th November. These two sides quickly making it clear that they are among the top four or five in the country at the moment, if Sedbergh beat Whitgift on Friday then this one could become gargantuan.
Back to events in Sunbury though, where Will Wilson’s two penalties from number 8 rather harked back to the days of John Eales with the boot from the second row for Australia, Wellington controlled the game so well in the first half that Bryanston simply did not have a sniff.
Both Wellington tries came from the chaos that often surrounds a bouncing ball, Wilson’s came after a high hanging kick was allowed to bounce by Bryanston, while Aspland-Robinson’s came after a loose Bryanston ball was hacked though for Wellington to sear away with Aspland-Robsinson supporting well to score.
When both sides reflect on this though they will conclude that it was not the best of games but that certainly it was one from which to draw positives, Wellington because of their controlled first half performance and deserved lead, allied to their superb defence in the second half that really did not allow Bryanston any field position despite good possession.
Bryanston will be pleased with the way they reacted to being down at half time and with the fact that even when the game was effectively over they still looked a determined side.
It was a deserved victory for Wellington though and they will now look ahead at the possibility of a very memorable season indeed.
Final Score: Wellington College 18-3 Bryanston
