Tough season for promoted Marlow set for a very satisfying conclusion

Photo credit: Ian Branch

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A tough first season in the Regional 2 Thames Division looks like it will have a very satisfying conclusion for Marlow RFC, after they produced an impressive all-round display to beat Aylesbury 38-19 on Saturday.

Aylesbury sat five points above Marlow coming into the fixture at Riverwoods, despite winning just two of their matches compared to Marlow’s four.

But Rory Greenslade-Jones’s side managed to leapfrog them to move ninth in the table after securing a much-deserved bonus point win on their own patch.

The head coach has also seen his side start to gel in recent weeks, picking up crucial wins over bottom club Fullerians (24-19) and now Aylesbury. Those wins have lifted any concerns of relegation and mean the side have secured their status in the division for next season.

On that front, Greenslade-Jones side the club would go on another recruitment drive in the summer to ensure they evolve into a more competitive side next season.

“It's been a tough season after being promoted,” he said.

“Post Christmas, we've recruited quite a few players to bolster the squad which was much needed. We're now starting to see those boys’ gel really.

“It was good to get some reward in terms of a good performance on Saturday.

“Aylesbury are one of the teams that are around us. They've been slightly above us in the league even though we've had more wins than them. They've done better in picking up losing bonus points. But it's always a battle with them and on Saturday we managed to put in a fantastic first half performance.”

He added: “There was a lot on that recent game with Fullerians. With Leighton Buzzard going out of the league we know only one team is going to go down, so, if we'd lost to Fullerians we'd have been level on points with them. But having won that, and beaten Aylesbury on Saturday, we're 10 points clear of Fullerians and above Aylesbury due to the fact we've won more games than them. We're sitting pretty really with only three games left. Fullerians' fate has been sealed because we've got more wins than them anyway.”

Marlow flew out of the blocks at Riverwoods on Saturday, pretty much securing their bonus point victory with a flurry of first half tries. With the wind at their backs, they led by 23 points at the interval and then managed to hold out in the second half, nullifying Aylesbury’s driving maul.

“We targeted this game against Aylesbury for points having beaten them for a bonus point win earlier in the season,” said Greenslade-Jones.

“We wanted to pick up another five points against them and it was nice, for a change, to see the boys stick to the game plan we wanted to play. We scored early and built a score and that was always the plan. By half-time we were up by 23 points. It was a good first half performance and we played in the right areas of the pitch. It was nice to get the rewards from the hard work the boys have put in.

“Their weapon is their driving maul, and they only managed to score from it once. That was really encouraging. We knew after 15 minutes; they hadn't had much of the ball and that's because we made some strong offensive tackles that forced them backwards. They had nowhere to go really.

“Fair play to them, they played to their strengths in the second half and scored some points.”

Ten points clear of bottom club Fullerians with a game in hand on them and Aylesbury, Marlow now can’t be caught, with only one team (most likely Fullerians) set for demotion after Leighton Buzzard dropped out of the league this season. Next up they travel to leaders Amersham & Chiltern on Saturday, March 16 before completing the season with a home game against Hemel Hempstead on Saturday, March 23, and a trip to Old Priorians on Saturday, April 6.

“We've got a difficult game next, and in good old Marlow fashion we've got a few boys unavailable for that which is just what we need,” he said. “But we'll have a stab at it, we're not afraid of anyone. There are teams in this league that are more used to playing in the division and have more experience. They take their chances much better, but we'll target points from our two remaining games against Hemel Hempstead and Old Priorians. We’re looking to get more points on the board, and if we can't get two wins, hopefully we can pick up seven points. That would be nice.

“Next year, we'll have had a year in the league, and we'll also go on a recruitment drive to add a few players.

“Marlow being Marlow, not many people move here. Most people move out of Marlow. We also have no university so it can be difficult to recruit, especially when you have teams around the area that can offer a lot more. It's a work in progress but we're all focused and looking to do better than we did this season.”