Counts lay down the Law

The Counts got off to the best possible start in the opening minute when centre Ross Norton banged over a towering penalty from the opponents’ 10 metre line. Although the visitors drew level with a penalty four minutes later, Walcountians made best use of the slope and breeze in their favour to drive play into the Law Society half of the field, with half-backs Harry Wrightson and Seb Chmielinski directing operations.

The Counts ran in their first try in the 13th minute when the ball was released from a ruck set up after driving runs by prop Remy Claustres and No 8 Jonny Evans, from which the ball was swept out left to the threequarters, and full-back Jacob Oldfield joined the line to run in and touch down for a try converted by Ross Norton.

It was Norton who scored Walcountians second try after 20 minutes and, with his conversion, put the Counts 14 points up. A penalty in the 26th minute from the same player brought Walcountians up to the 20-point mark.

Law Society were however far from being outclassed and gave the Counts a rude shock in the 31st minute when their scrum-half broke to the blind-side from a ruck in the Walcountians 22 and touched down.

Walcountians knew the second half would be more difficult because they were playing uphill and into the face of the wind, and made he best possible start when, after six minutes from the break, speedy winger Dharshan Vadivelu ran in a try set up after centre Dany Abou-Zeid set up a ruck enabling the ball to be recycled quickly and moved out to the wing.

The visitors put up a good challenge and alarm bells began to ring for Walcountians after tries in the 8th and 23rd minutes of the second half brought Law Society to within one converted score of levelling the score. However, the final quarter of the match belonged to Walcountians who lasted the distance much better and, through titanic efforts by the forwards with hooker Rob Fleming, Jonny Evans, lock Will Thornton and flanker Joe Henderson prominent, drove play into the Law Society 22.

In the 39th minute, they scored the first of two tries which put the match out of reach when Rob Fleming charged down an attempted clearance by the Law Society scrum-half and Jonny Evans dived on the loose ball to touch it down. Three minutes into stoppage time, Will Thornton put the match beyond recall when he took a pass on the blind-side of a ruck and charged for the line to touch down.

Next Saturday, Walcountians take on third-placed Old Haileyburians at Ruxley Lane, Ewell.

Old Walcountians:- Oldfield, Fletcher-Rogers, Norton, Abou-Zeid (D), Vadivelu, Wrightson (H), Chmielinski, Abou-Zeid (A), Fleming, Claustres, Thornton, Le Masurier, Henderson, Adams, Evans.

Subs:- Housden, Stylianou, Wrightson (J).