Farnham slipped to a 35-27 defeat at London Scottish Lions in Regional One South Central.

The visitors welcomed back Jonny Vincent from injury in the only change from the side which beat Wimbledon. The hosts kicked off with Farnham opting to play with the wind for the first half.

The hosts started well with their full back beating several defenders and breaking into the 22. A knock on gave Farnham relief but a free kick from the scrum gave the hosts an opportunity to tap and go and they touched down for the first try.

Farnham had to get into the game and did so through their driving maul. It was stopped short of the line with the ball moved wide. Farnham were patient and moved the ball again with Toby Simmons drawing men in before finding Toby Salmon, who dotted down in the corner to make it 7-5.

Farnham failed to collect the restart and from the resulting scrum, the hosts moved into the 22. They ground down the Farnham defence with their tighthead powering over under the posts to make it 14-5.

The game was very back and forth with the scrum a bit messy but Farnham were dominating at the lineout. Oscar Henderson and Shawa Rai secured several turnovers at the breakdown to help halt the home side’s momentum.

A well-executed move saw Vincent feed the charging Harrison Horner, who was stopped just short, but quick ball meant Vincent strolled over for his tenth try of the season. The successful conversion made it 14-12.

The hosts won back the restart and broke through the Farnham defence and finished off well to score their third try.

With half-time approaching, Farnham had to hit back. Joey Wood fed Simmons, who showed good pace and feet to beat three defenders and was dragged down ten metres out. The ball was quickly moved wide with George Bellamy drawing the last man and feeding Marco Azevedo for the try. Farnham trailed 21-17 at half-time.

Farnham started the second half well. They broke into the 22 and were patient with their attack, creeping closer to the line. Wood managed to offload well and Simmons dived into the corner for the bonus-point try. Farnham led 22-21.

The visitors were dominating the early second-half territory and won a penalty that resulted in a line out on the 22. Farnham brought on Ollie Brown and Chris Te Mete to keep the momentum going. A well-executed move saw Ben Stevens grubber in behind and Alex Young regathered and finished off well in the corner to make it 27-21.

With ten minutes to go, the hosts broke into the 22 and although Farnham’s defence scrambled well to stop them, Vincent was shown a yellow card for a breakdown infringement. The hosts stayed patient and their number eight powered over for a converted try.

The visitors had to respond and looked to counter, but the home side’s left winger intercepted the ball and ran in under the posts to clinch the game.

Farnham still had time left to try get an additional bonus point and looked to be in for another score, but some good scrambling defence kept them out.

Next up for Farnham is a home game against Worthing in Regional One South Central on Saturday, February 14.

By Toby Salmon