Four-try birthday boy Fletcher-Rogers leads Counts to crushing win

The Old Boys imposed their authority on the game straight from the kick-off as their pack got the batter of their opponents. Props Jonny Evans and Jay Selvarajah anchored a solid Counts scrum which had too much power for Law Society in the set scrums while hooker Rob Fleming and lock Dom Bell were rampant in the loose and repeatedly drove Law Society forwards off the ball.

Tries from wingers Marvin Fletcher-Rogers and Dom Barnaby and No8 Remy Claustres gave Walcountians a ten-point lead early in the half, Law Society countering with one of their own. The Counts had by no means everything their own way as the home side sought to attack with every opportunity and frequently came close to scoring. However, the solidity of Walcountians’ defensive tackling and the aggression shown by the forwards in driving into rucks kept Law Society at bay.

Walcountians extended their lead to 17 points five minutes into stoppage time when Dom Barnaby unleashed a bit of magic by breaking from the Law Society 10-metre line and leaving the home side’s defenders for dead with an explosive burst of speed. With regular kicker Ross Norton out through injury, scrum-half Tom McMullen took over the kicking duties and added the conversion.

The end of the first half saw Walcountians lose the services of burly No8 Remy Claustres, but this allowed the introduction of mountainous prop Ben Anderson into the fray. Anderson made an immediate impact in the set scrums where he totally destroyed the Law Society scrummage and in the loose, where his thunderous bursts scattered defenders far and wide. The versatile Jonny Evans moved to No8.
The second half was just one minute old when Walcountians struck again. Full-back Dharshan Vadivelu joined the threequarter line and his mazy run left the Law Society defence open for Marvin Fletcher-Rogers to race away for his second try of the day.

The rest of the second half saw Walcountians pile on the agony for Law Society as they ran in four more tries. The second came in the 16th minute when Dom Bell snapped up loose possession and put flanker Joe Henderson away for a break, from which he put fly-half Seb Chmielinski in for a try.

Law Society’s scrum-half took advantage of a tap penalty a minute later to score their second try of the day, but this failed to stop the Walcountians juggernaut. The 27th minute saw Dharshan Vadivelu join the list of scoreres when he finished off a move created by some impressive approach work by centre Clive Kennedy who committed the Law Society’s defence and flanker Tom Housden who made the space with a break.

Two more tries followed for Walcountians, and both came from winger Marvin Fletcher-Rogers who was celebrating his birthday. The first, after 34 minutes, came after he ran onto a cleverly-placed diagonal kick from Seb Chmielinski. Two minutes later, Fletcher-Rogers scored his fourth try and Walcountians’ ninth with a break from 60 metres out after fellow winger Dom Barnaby made the initial space.
Law Society, although outplayed, did not lack spirit and scored a third try two minutes into stoppage time when their tight-head prop went over from a tap penalty close to the Old Boys’ line.

Walcountians have now moved up to seventh in Surrey League 1 but are only three points behind fourth-placed Old Amplefordians. It is Amplefordians who Walcountians play next on 27 January at Clock House, the match kicking off at 2pm.

Old Walcountians:- Vadivelu, Fletcher-Rogers, Wrightson, Kennedy, Barnaby, Chmielinski, McMullen, Evans, Fleming, Selvarajah, Thornton, Bell, Housden, Henderson, Claustres.

Subs:- Anderson, Bellringer, Stylianou.