Southern Counties North: Marlow Rugby Club score a hat-trick of first-half tries and gain revenge on Wallingford

The Bucks club were beaten 40-18 in the reverse fixture back in October but put the record straight to leave themselves in fourth position in the Southern Counties North.

The home team were looking to build on a strong win at Stow-on-the-Wold the previous weekend, but it took until midway through the first half for the deadlock to be broken.

The first try came in the form of a flowing Marlow three quarters move off the back of a scrum that put the flying debutant Ollie Kemp over in the corner.

It only took a few more minutes for Marlow to register their second as captain Hugo Jafari cut inside and danced around multiple defenders to score in the corner.

The hosts were unfortunate not to score again after another flowing backs move and offload from Kemp resulted in the ball being held up over the line.

The home side were not to be denied when a strong scrum resulted in an easy pushover try for number right Alex Spicer. He controlled the ball well to make it three tries for Marlow inside the first half hour.

Marlow were now chasing a bonus point and a rushed clearance from Wallingford gave them the opportunity of an attacking lineout on the 22-metre line. A well-worked move drew in defenders and opened a gap in the line for George Jafari to strong through and score. Christian Witney added the extras to give his side a 22-0 lead on the half-time whistle.

Wallingford came out stronger at the beginning of the second half and denied Marlow possession. The visitors ultimately scored a try of their own courtesy of a series of pick-and-goes on the line.

Marlow failed to score any more points but did manage to prevent Wallingford from having any further opportunities due to a great team defence and game management from man-of-the-match Hugo Jafari.

Thanks to a series of key injuries Marlow stalwart Will Reynolds, who is used to playing in the pack, was seen out on the wing late on.

The Bucks club now face a crucial trip to unbeaten league leaders Witney on Saturday 1st February (2.30pm). Witney won the reverse fixture 25-16 back in October and lead the division by 16 points – 20 ahead of Marlow in fourth spot.