WIMBLEDON 6 TWICKENHAM 11

Twickenham have been bereft of League points since early November and have dropped from League leadership to the relegation zone of London 2 in the process. They turned things around with a win away to Wimbledon by dint of outstanding forward power and a vastly improved performance in the backs after half time.

The first half was a nightmare for T’s as they missed two early straightforward penalties, and then had no less than 3 men sent to the sin bin. Playing at least one man down for most of the half, the spirit shown was exceptional, and resolute defence kept the opponents to two penalties. The forwards were outstanding and the backs defended with courage, but were inept in attack.

T’s still had the best chance of scoring a try when a searing run by winger Russell Whittam saw him clear over the line but drop the ball in his keenness to take it nearer to the posts.

A Phil Asbury penalty, on the stroke of half time, gave T’s heart for the second half.

In the second half, with a full complement of players throughout, T’s back-row were dominant and the strong pack dominated the scrums and line-outs. However it proved difficult to score until a penalty from John Bradford brought them level.

With just five minutes to go a good break in the backs lead to a try for prop Richard Moses. T’s turned out winners by 11-6 and now face the last quarter of the season needing probably 3 wins out of 7 matches to preserve their place in London 2.

TWICKENHAM: Wadden, Russell, Bradford, Foley, Whittam, Astbury, Rogers, Moses, Tytherleigh, Thomas, Goff, Davies, Wakefield, Holden, I’Anson.