Solid Counts end losing run in style

The Counts were boosted by the return from injury of four key forwards, Tom Brown, James Ford, Rob Fleming and Callum Tilleray, as well as elusive threequarter Dharshan Vadivelu and, anchored by a solid front row of Luke Raynor, Ford and Remy Claustres, quickly established dominance in the set scrums and the loose, where driving runs, in which Raynor, Claustres, lock Dom Bell and flanker Tom Brown were prominent, sent Kingston retreating towards their own line. However, Walcountians were frustrated by a determined Kingston defence in the first half and their only score came from a piece of opportunism by winger Nino Stylianou in the 13th minute who snapped up loose ball on the 22 metre line and left the Kingston defence floundering with a spectacular burst of speed to touch down for a try.

At the break, Walcountians were holding a narrow two-point lead but that was soon to change. The forwards laid siege to the Kingston line from the restart and, five minutes into the second half, keystone forward Dom Bell picked the ball out of a ruck and crashed over for his fourth try of the season.

Kingston rallied bravely but their inability to keep the ball in hand was to prove costly. In the ninth minute, the Counts scrum-half Liam Moorhead intercepted a poor pass in his own 22 and stunned the visitors as he broke downfield and left defenders in his wake on his way to scoring his first try at this level. Centre Dom Barnaby added the conversion to put the Counts 16 points clear.

Kingston were not discouraged by this setback and were rewarded for their efforts in the 16th minute when their most effective forward, No 8 Hugo Eyre, went over for a try in the corner. But the rest of the match belonged to Walcountians who ran in three more tries to seal a deserved victory.

The first came after 22 minutes when a drive and ruck set up by the forwards released the threequarters and speedy winger Omarie Brown scored his seventh try of the season by rounding the Kingston defence.

The second came 10 minutes later when replacement hooker Callum Tilleray celebrated his return from injury by stripping the ball off Kingston at a ruck and striding through the defence to score under the posts, Dom Barnaby converting.

The final try came in the last minute of normal time when fly-half Hal Mogridge scored his first ever try for the Counts after intercepting a loose pass in the Kingston 22.

Walcountians are now in seventh place in Counties League 1 Surrey/Sussex and can improve their position next week when they take on strugglers Old Emanuel. Kick-off at Taunton Avenue, Raynes Park is at 2:30pm.

Old Walcountians:- Moorhead (S), Brown (O), Barnaby, Henderson, Stylianou, Mogridge, Moorhead L), Raynor, Ford, Claustres, Bell, Thomas, Brown (T), Fleming, Lawrence.

Subs:- Bellringer, Tilleray, Vadivelu.