Sat 24 Jan 2026
Having conceded 69 points when playing away at Corsham, it looked as though this was going to be a tricky fixture for Marlborough. The conditions were poor: strong winds and intermittent rain. The first twenty minutes were fairly poor from both teams, with numerous handling errors leading to an extremely stop/start affair. It was Corsham that opened the scoring on 23 minutes after a mix-up with poor handling by Marlborough on the half-way that led to Corsham advancing down the slope and applying some fairly continuous and persistent pressure on the Marlborough 5-metre line. Awarded a penalty, the Corsham forwards opted for the tap-and-go; they managed two phases and our defence became disorganised and let them in for a well-worked try, which went unconverted.
For the next fifteen minutes it was more of the same, although Marlborough were starting to look more threatening... However, every time something good seemed to be building, poor handling let the Nomads down! On the positive side, their defence was improving and becoming more coherent across the pitch. Finally, on 38 minutes, a Marlborough move stuck. From a turn-over on the 10-metre line, we witnessed a great break by hooker, Ed Mills, who was well supported by loose-head prop, Bradley Whatley. Mills stood up his defender, passed the ball out to Whatley, who popped it straight back for Mills to score! Sublime to watch! Sadly, although his kicking is generally spot-on, Whatley couldn't convert. Marlborough 5-5 Corsham...
Having laboured for most of the first half, the Nomads had their tails up and it was Marlborough that struck again - in the 40th minute. Our scrum-half, Josefa Rokoua, snatched up a loose ball on the Corsham 22-metre line and sprinted in to score. This time, Whately boot was zeroed-in, and he added the two points as the referee brought the first half to a close.
Half-time score: Marlborough Rugby 12-5 Corsham RFC
The team talk in the break was extremely professional: first up was the day's team captain and flanker, Guy Kindlon, who rose to the occasion really well. Then the team coach, Kevin Dobie, had his say and finally Director of Rugby, Elisi Vunipola, finished off explaining exactly what was need in the second half to go on and win the game.
But Marlborough started the second period with just fourteen men, following a yellow card for our bog second row, Ratu Saqanavere. In spite of this, which many spectators felt was a hrash call, the Marlborough boys were on the front foot now. We were starting to dominate in the scrum and Number 8, Charlie Ladds, proving a real nuisance on Corsham line-outs. Against the run of play, it was Corsham that scored first! A loose pass was intercepted on the half-way line, and the red and white shirts went the distance to score under the posts. Converted. We are now Marlborough Rugby 12-12 Corsham RFC... and things are getting tense!
Two minutes later, Marlborough are awarded a penalty on the Corsham 5-metre line. Returning to the field from his sin-bin, Saqanavere wasted no time at all and was a one-man machine, from his tap-and-go to crashing over the line to score! Whatley lined it up and slotted the extras. Marlborough Rugby 19-12 Corsham RFC.
The worsening weather conditions were not helping either team, but Marlborough were gaining the upper hand and were playing down the slope in the second half. Corsham had the wind at their backs, however, and made repeated use of this advantage to pin the Marlborough boys back time after time with some excellent kicking from their fly-half. But the men of Marlborough were defending well and with passes starting to stick they were threatening in attack. On 72 minutes, Mills scored his second try with some very good phase play and then slick hands, the ball finding its way to Mills who - loitering on the wing as some hookers do - neatly side-stepped his marker and rushed over to score; unconverted, but the five points brought the scoreline to 24-12 and there were only a handful of minutes left to play...
Corsham fought to the final whistle, but some good Marlborough defence kept them at bay and the referee blew up for full time, to rapturous cheers from the spectators on the touchline. A good win - a five point win, with a try bonus. Well done lads!
Final score: Marlborough Rugby 24-12 Corsham RFC
The coaching staff reflect:
On the whole this was an encouraging performance from Marlborough. Man of the Match was our skipper for the day, Guy Kindlon. His leadership and decision-making were 'on point' and he didn't let the extra responsibility impact on his performance. An extremely impressive and successful afternoon for Guy. Second Row, Ratu Saqanavere, was a handful for the entire match and a close runner up for Man of the Match. Having the experience and on-pitch maturity of returning players like James Marshall & Charlie Ladds was a steadying influence. Ed Mills is improving week-on-week and now he has had one cap for the 1st XV is very much the future for Marlborough. He was also a very able vice-captain for Guy. With young boys like Guy/Ed/Max Khawaja/Vili Vunipola/Bradley Whatley/Josefa Rokoua being given 1st XV experience when appropriate, they are developing into very promising players. All good for the Club!
