Counts hang on to win cliffhanger

The Counts were buoyed by the return to action of skipper Will Thornton after a shoulder operation, and were further reinforced by returns to action by scrum-half Seb Chmielinski and replacement prop Anthony Abou-Zeid, also after lengthy lay-offs. They wasted no time in taking the match to Freemen’s who soon began to buckle under the weight of the Walcountians scrum, ably anchored by props Jonny Evans and Remy Claustres. Twelve minutes into the match, Walcountians opened the scoring when No 8 Joe Henderson won a lineout to set up a rolling maul, from which hooker Rob Fleming crashed over for a try.

Walcountians then increased their lead immediately from the restart. Joe Henderson opened a hole in the Freemen’s defence and found flanker Tom Housden in support to drive play into the Freemen’s 22, from which supporting prop Jonny Evans took the final pass and crossed the line for the Counts’ second try.

Freemen’s however hit back with a try of their own after 18 minutes with a catch and drive from a lineout five metres out from the Walcountians’ tryline.

Walcountians could have scored a third try after 20 minutes when winger Marvin Fletcher-Rogers was ruled as having put a foot in touch. However, four minutes later, Seb Chmielinski made amends as he caught the Freemen’s defence napping as he made a razor-quick break to the blind side from a ruck in the Freemen’s 22.

A minute later, Walcountians ran in their fourth try as Marvin Fletcher-Rogers ran onto a grubber kick from Seb Chmielinski and held off an attempted cover tackle to force his way over.

Any thoughts of an easy victory were soon erased as the home side launched a determined fightback which began in the 40th minute when they repeated the move that brought their first try and scored a second.

The second half was an even battle between two well-matched sides but the difference was that Freemen’s took advantage of their opportunities whereas Walcountians did not, despite some determined running by centre Harry Wrightson. Failure to take control of possession at the kick-off proved costly for Walcountians, as did the conceding of a string of penalties which the Freemen’s fly-half gratefully took advantage of. Freemen’s scored three more tries in the 3rd, 30th and 44th minutes, all involving a catch and drive from a lineout, and Walcountians were grateful to full-back Ross Norton whose two penalties ensures that Walcountians held onto their lead.

Walcountians are now eighth in Surrey League 1 at the halfway point. Their next League match is on 13 January against Law Soceity at King’s College Sports Ground, New Malden, kicking off at 2pm. Before that, they take on Old Haileyburians in the Surrey Shield on 6 January. Kick-off at Ruxley Lane, Ewell, is at 2pm

Old Walcountians:- Norton, Fletcher-Rogers, Wrightson (H), Kennedy, Vadivelu, Armitage, Chmielinski, Evans, Fleming, Claustres, Thornton, Bell, Housden, Wrightson (J), Henderson.

Subs:- Abou-Zeid, McMullen, Murphy.