Old Walcountians 60 Cranleigh 17

The Old Boys entered their opening League match with some trepidation. Little more than four months previously, Cranleigh had ended the Old Boys’ grip on the Surrey Shield.

Over the summer, Walcountians had lost the services of three of their key players from recent seasons, with midfield backs Chris Mockford and Tim Chauncey working abroad and flanker Jack South travelling round the world.

And a disappointing turnout at pre-season training and defeat by Old Emanuel in the curtain-raiser all fed fears that Walcountians were no longer the force they were when they had been promoted 12 months previously.

The Old Boys wasted no time in getting stuck into Cranleigh and the speed shown by both the forwards and the backs in getting up and putting pressure on their opponents ensured a stream of turnover ball.

Half-backs Fred South and Wally Fourie spread the ball every time they had possession and it took Walcountians just six minutes to open their account.

Teenage full-back Ross Norton joined a threequarter move and left the Cranleigh defence floundering with his pace to put winger Chris Drinkwater in for a try.

Four minutes later, Walcountians extened their lead to 14 points. Fly-half Fred South hoisted a high Garryowen kick and won the chase to the ball to touch down. Norton kicked his second conversion of the day to add to the score.

Cranleigh pulled back a penalty in the 20th minute but, two minutes later, Walcountians extended their lead again when aggressive scrum-half Wally Fourie steamed in on the Cranleigh fly-half as he attempted a clearance kick and charged it down for a try which Norton again converted.

Walcountians’ fourth try came from Ollie Beales, now playing at centre, who split open the Cranleigh defence with a diagonal run and hit the gas for the tryline.

Walcountians scored two more tries before half time which, with a penalty from Ross Norton, gave the Old Boys a 40-point lead at the break.

The first came from Norton who used his pace to outstrip the Cranleigh defence after being set up by quick thinking from Wally Fourie who took a quick throw-in to Fred South.

The second came from lock Simon Fowler who was on hand to support a break by Ollie Beales.

Walcountians found the second half harder work as the visitors tried to salvage some pride and kept the ball within their larger pack who had the better of the tight exchanges.

But they wasted little time in adding to their score as Ollie Beales scored his second try of the day just three minutes into the half as he took an inside pass from Fred South and raced away to score.

The visitors were rewarded with a try in the fifth minute as their persistence punished slack defending by the Old Boys.

Walcountians scored one more try which came in the ninth minute after Chris Drinkwater blocked an attempted kick and raced away from a stunned Cranleigh defence for his second try of the day.

Ross Norton banged over his seventh conversion of the day, and added another penalty in the 25th minute.

The Old Boys used all three replacements.

Prop Llewellyn Wooldridge arrived late so substitute prop Steve O’Hara started. Later in the game, lock Russ Yeo came on for his 150th first team appearance while veteran centre Mike Bramble, who had made his 1st XV debut before Ross Norton was even born came on and made an immediate impact with a swerving run.

The Old Boys should have added at least two more tries as handling errors undid certain scoring opportunities.

Instead, it was Cranleigh who had the last word when their No 8 touched down for a converted try in the 32nd minutes as his pack drove the Walcountians eight back from a 5-metre scrum.

Next Saturday, Walcountians make the short trip over the Chipstead Valley to take on near neighbours Chipstead. Kick-off at the Meads is at 3pm.

Old Walcountians:- Norton, McGibbon, Crompton, Beales, Drinkwater. South, Fourie (capt), O’Hara, Houghton, Longstaff, Sutherland, Fowler, Naylor, Simms, Welsh. Subs:- Bramble, Wooldridge, Yeo.