Old Walcountians put up a stirring fight and pushed a slick and talented Wimbledon
2nd XV all the way before succumbing last Saturday.

The Dons’ development XV proved a much more searching opponent for the Counts
than the opponents in their opening match, being the reserve team for opponents
three levels higher. The skill they showed in their distribution and support work
stunned Walcountians in the opening 10 minutes as they ran in a converted try.

However, the Dons did not account for the aggression and determination shown by
Walcountians after the early blow of going 14 points down. The forwards, with
James Ford, Joe Lawrence, Luke Bignell and Joe Henderson prominent, had the
edge in the set scrums and drove the Dons backwards in the loose with a series of
thunderous charges while, behind the scrum, scrum-half James Bacon was a
constant threat with the ball in his hand.

It was Bacon who first got the Counts back in the game when he crossed for a try in
the 14 th minute after making a sniping break. Three minutes later, the Counts took
the lead when prop Dom Bell saw an opening in the Dons’ defence and intelligently
offloaded the ball to No 8 Joe Henderson to crash over for a try. And the 31 st
minutes saw Walcountians extend their lead when blockbusting winger Olly Sanders
smashed his way through the Dons’ defensive cover to touch down for a try which
full-back Jacob Appleyard converted.

Several of the Dons players were looking for 1 st XV places and the shock of going
behind brought them back to life. They narrowed the Counts’ lead in the 35 th minute
when their outside-centre finished off a counter-attack started when their backline
retrieved a lengthy defensive clearance kick and regained the lead in the final minute
before the break when their blind-side flanker successfully offloaded a pass to their
left-winger after being caught in a thunderous defensive tackle.

The Counts made a bold start to the second half by pinning the Dons back into their
22 and were back in front after being awarded a penalty try when a Dons defender
slapped down a pass from James Bacon to the unmarked Joe Henderson who had
the tryline at his mercy.
Unfortunately, Walcountians were unable to capitalise on the strong position they
were in and, in the 14 th minute, it was their turn to concede a penalty try when Jacob
Appleyard attempted an adventurous interception as the Dons backs closed in on
the Counts line. It cost Appleyard 10 minutes in the sin bin, during which the Counts
were reduced to 14 players.

The Dons took advantage of their numerical superiority to run in two more tries in the
16 th and 24 th minutes which many observers considered to have finished off
Walcountians. However, the Counts were far from disheartened and launched a
determined offensive in the closing minutes which was rewarded with their fifth try of
the day in the 32 nd minute. It was a piece of skilful improvisation by Jacob Appleyard
who used his boot to flick a loose pass into his hands, from which he set up
powerhouse winger Dom Barnaby to punch a massive hole in the Dons’ defence and
touch down for a try which Appleyard converted with a towering kick from the
touchline.

Next Saturday, Walcountians open their League campaign in Counties League 2
Surrey when they take on Bec Old Boys. Kick-off at Walcountians’ home ground,
Clock House, Carshalton Road, Woodmansterne, is at 3pm.

Old Walcountians:- Appleyard, Stoner, Togbolah, Beaubrun, Sanders, French,
Bacon, Bell, Ford, Worsley, Lawrence, Bignell, Camakamma, Charnock (S),
Henderson.

Subs:- Barnaby, Blackmore, Charnock (G), Moorhead (L), Moorhead (S), Pownall.