OWs leave it too late

The Counts made a sluggish start and did not have any meaningful possession during the opening 10 minutes when they were totally outplayed by Eastbourne. This pressure delivered for the visitors in the 10th minute when No 8 Jim Grey broke from the base of a ruck near the Walcountians line and put scrum-half Ian Padget in for an easy try.

Walcountians briefly rallied and lock Dom Bell was unlucky to miss out on a try in the 17th minute as he was held up on the Eastbourne line. But Eastbourne soon extended their lead to 14 points when winger Dylan Viles ran onto a cleverly flighted kick from fly-half Aaron Hossack to touch down for a try.

In the 28th minute, Walcountians finally got on the scoresheet when the pack set up second phase possession which released the backs, and full-back Marvin Fletcher-Rogers joined the line to run in for a try. Fly-half Hal Mogridge’s towering conversion from the touchline added two more points.

The Counts were soon on the receiving end of another Eastbourne try as winger Luca Bianchi sidestepped his way past two attempted tackles and touched down in the 32nd minute. However, they responded with their second try of the day as half-time approached when skipper Joe Henderson took an offload and powered his way over. Another towering conversion from Hal Mogridge narrowed Eastbourne’s lead to five points.

Any hopes that Walcountians would turn the tables on Eastbourne rapidly evaporated in the first 20 minutes of the second half as they gifted game advantage to the visitors. The Counts conceded an endless stream of penalties which gave Eastbourne opportunities to close down on Walcountians’ line. The Walcountians’ pack lost possession at several rucks and twice they needlessly conceded territory by kicking directly into touch after taking a pass from a player outside the 22-metre line. Eastbourne wingers Bianchi and Viles helped themselves to their second tries of the day in the 4th and 14th minutes of the half by taking advantage of Walcountians’ errors.

As the game entered the closing 20 minutes, Walcountians finally came to life and showed their true talents. Hard work by the forwards, where hooker Callum Tilleray, prop Jonny Evans and back rowers Joe Henderson and Tom Brown excelled, created opportunities, and the backs started to test Eastbourne’s defence. The first score came in the 22nd minute when replacement prop James Ford offloaded to winger Omarie Brown who streaked away from a stunned Eastbourne defence to touch down for a converted try.

Although Eastbourne ran in their sixth try of the day in the 31st minute through Ian Padget’s second try, the closing minutes of the match belonged to Walcountians who mounted a brave bid to salvage the match. In the 37th minute, the forwards drove a maul over the Eastbourne line for Jonny Evans to get the final touch and, in stoppage time, a quickly-taken penalty gave centre Alex French the opportunity to open up Eastbourne’s defence and put speedy winger Omarie Brown in for his second try of the day.

Walcountians have slipped to eighth place in Counties League 1 Surrey/Sussex following two successive losses. Next Saturday, they face another stiff challenge when they take on second-placed Weybridge Vandals. Kick-off at Brownacres, Walton-on-Thames is at 2:30pm.

Old Walcountians:- Fletcher-Rogers, Stylianou, French, Barnaby, Murphy, Mogridge, Moorhead, Evans, Tilleray, Acquah, Bell, Lawrence, Skinner, Henderson, Brown (T).

Subs:- Brown (O), Ford, Housden.