A superb recovery from 10-points behind saw Old Walcountians become the first team to beat Surrey One league leaders Old Blues for more than a year at Clock House on Saturday.

The visitors ran Walcountians ragged in the opening 20 minutes, taking the lead in the seventh minute when their blind-side flanker drove over for a converted try after breaking from a ruck on Walcountians line.

When Blues added a penalty in the 13th minute, Walcountians wer already ten points adrift and looking on course for a heavy defeat.

The turning point in the game came in the 22nd minute.

After Walcountians forced a breakdown of a Blues threequarter move, winger Ryan McGibbon hacked the ball forward, won the chase to pick it up and then hit the accelerator pedal to leave a stunned Blues defence for dead as he ran in a try from 70 metres out. Ross Norton’s conversion brought Walcountians to within three points of Blues.

As the second half drew to a close, an increasingly confident Walcountians began to turn the tables on the League leaders.

The forwards, with Kemlo Longstaff, Matt Houghton and Tim Simms prominent, began to deny Blues possession by aggressively attacking the rucks and mauls, while the backs began to find some fluency and started to stretch apart the Blues defence.

A penalty from full-back Ross Norton in the 30th minute drew Walcountians level and they began the second half with a bang when forceful No 8 Gavin Welsh pounded his way over for a converted try in the third minute after taking a pass at first receiver from a ruck on the Blues line.

Although Blues narrowed the lead with a penalty after seven minutes of the second half, the remainder of the half was dominated by Walcountians.

The pack was increasingly successful not only in capitalising on its own possession but also in stripping Blues of the ball. Behind the scrum, Fred South and Callum Stone linked well at half-back with South’s thunderous boot repeatedly driving Walcountians upfield, while the threequarters repeatedly probed for holes in the Blues defence.

The League leaders’ discipline began to disintegrate as they found themselves unable to cope with Walcountians’ ferocious onslaught and started to concede a string of penalties.

Twenty minutes into the second half, Walcountians extended their lead again.

After Walcountians won a set scrum, Callum Stone whipped the ball out to Ryan McGibbon who rounded the Blues defence and passed back inside to the supporting Stone who outpaced the remaining Blues cover for a try.

Walcountians continued to dominate in the closing 20 minutes and, although Blues managed to score a try in the 33rd minute when their inside-centre scored after taking a reverse pass, the final word fell to Walcountians.

Following a second penalty from Ross Norton, Walcountians sealed victory three minutes from full-time when the ball was swept out to the threequarters and, after Ross Norton kicked ahead, centre Dan Crompton won the race to the ball to touch down for Walcountians’ fourth try of the day.

Walcountians’ next game is against Hampshire One side New Milton & District in the third round of the Junior Vase on November 27 (2.30pm).