Playing with the slope in their favour, the Counts made a lightning quick start to the first half when No8 Scott Stevens scored two tries in the opening 15 minutes. The first try after just five minutes came after Joe Henderson, who had made the transition from centre to second row, burst through the middle of Whitgiftians’ defence to put Stevens in. Stevens’ second try in the 15th minute came when he picked up the ball and drove over from short range after Walcountians had been held up close to the Whitgiftians line.

Walcountians however failed to capitalise on a near monopoly of possession in the remainder of the first half and poor handling and wrong options cost them the opportunity to extend their lead. The closest to them scoring was when prop Dom Bell had a try disallowed.

The second half saw Whitgiftians take full advantage of the slope at their Croham Road ground as they turned the tables on Walcountians and forced them to defend their lines. For 15 minutes, the Counts held out superbly and shut down Whitgiftians with a solid set of defensive tackling. However, the Counts conceded far too many penalties and were reduced to 13 players at one point after Joe Henderson and scrum-half Callum Stone were sin-binned. Whitgiftians took advantage of this numerical mismatch to run in two converted tries from fly-half Jordan Lewis and centre Dan Lewis which put them in front.

Walcountians responded with a rally in the final quarter, and their most penetrative back, Dom Barnaby, tested the mettle of Whitgiftians defenders on several occasions. However, support was not at hand and Walcountians were unable to convert the opportunities into points. It was Whitgiftians who had the final word in the last minute of the match when winger Rupert Bradshaw rode an attempted tackle to score his side’s third try of the day.

This defeat has seen Walcountians slip to ninth place in the League and, with tenth-placed Old Cranleighans recording their fourth consecutive win, they are at risk of being sucked into a relegation battle. Next Saturday, Walcountians face another difficult fixture when they take on second-placed Old Wimbledonians at Clock House, Woodmansterne. Kick-off is at 3pm.

Old Walcountians:- Stevens (P), Stoner, Moorhead, Barnaby, Fletcher-Rogers, Mogridge, Stone, Tilleray, Blackmore, Bell, Lawrence, Henderson, Harding, Camakamma, Stevens (S).

Subs:- Robinson, Stylianou, Worsley.