There was no lack of commitment from the Counts who were fighting to avoid being sucked into the relegation places. However, their execution during the first half was far from perfect, with passing, handling and securing possession in the contact area and in rucks all being below par; this contrasted with the well-drilled Police XV who kept play alive through excellent support for the ball carrier.

An exchange of penalties in the first quarter between Police winger Freddy Dalley and Counts full-back Hal Mogridge kept the scores level but, after the 20-minute mark, the Police started to pull away as they ran in four tries by the half-time break. Dalley was the scorer of the first try, and was joined by flankers Bill Ferguson and Jack Wansell and centre Chris Holloway in crossing the Walcountians line.

When Freddy Dalley kicked his second penalty of the day five minutes into the second half, a rout looked on the cards for Walcountians. However, as the second half progressed, the Counts tightened up their game and, with Jamie Blackmore, Callum Tilleray and Olly Sanders leading the cavalry charge, started to put the Police defence under pressure. 19 minutes into the second half, Walcountians finally got a reward when scrum-half James Bacon burrowed his way over for a try from a ruck on the Police line, Hal Mogridge adding the conversion.

Walcountians conceded a soft try in the 39th minute when failure to clear up loose ball gave Police scrum-half Jack Scott a gilt-edged opportunity to run in and touch down unopposed. However, it was Walcountians who had the final word when Hal Mogridge finished off a threequarter move four minutes into stoppage time to score their second try of the day and added a conversion.

Walcountians remain in ninth place in Counties League 2 Surrey and it was fortunate that both Old Cranleighans and Old Blues who are just below them in the table both suffered heavy defeats. The Counts final League match of the season takes place on 5 April against Old Amplefordians and is a match in which they must gain at least a bonus point to avoid a second successive relegation. The match takes place at Walcountians’ Clock House ground and kicks off at 3pm following a pre-match lunch organised by the club’s President, Steve Simmonds.

Old Walcountians:- Mogridge, Fletcher-Rogers, Moorhead, Togbolah, Brown, Henderson, Bacon, Ford, Tilleray, Bell, Lawrence, Rees, Charnock, Bignell, Sanders.

Subs:- Anderson, Beaubrun, Blackmore.