Warlingham 31 Old Dunstonian 28

Their revival in fortunes was due to two factors; Warlinghams set piece dominance being stymied by uncontested scrums post the departure of olds boys hooker Fluke, and Dunstonians ability to convert turnover ball into lightning attacks. Warlingham, their large aggressive pack to the fore, made the early running, and their continued pressure squeezed four penalities and a try out of the old boys. At this point, the physical pressure cost D’s the loss of scrum half Cody Mackie and hooker Fluke. Fly half Bryant Hall moved to 9 and Josh Smith came off the bench into the 10 berth for what was his best game in a Dunstonian shirt.

As the second half began with Warlingham leading 17 nil, Dunstonions situation deteriorated further as the Warlingham fullback went in for a further score. At 24 nil the vociferous home crowd gleefully anticipated a drubbing. One supporter, bearing more than a passing resemblence to Captain Birdseye, alternated between slurps of Guinness and yelling “twist the knife Warly!”

A little order was restored as first Luke Smart and then Jayden Dallenana scored excellent tries, the latter from some 70 metres out and the result of quick thinking, quick hands and a very quick Aussie. When Warlingham scored again to take the score to 31 – 14 all looked lost, especially as Warlingham forwards were dominating possession for long periods. However,D's weren't quite dead yet. First Josh Smith collected his own chip to score under the posts, the urgency of the drop kicked conversion indicatating that D’s believed the game might still have something on offer. After being dispossesed earlier in the half in the act of crossing the line (with an incredulous Marc Dennis outside him screaming for the ball) Luke Smart made amends when he was fed by Ben Connelly’s break to finish in the corner, though the act of grounding the ball was, shall we say, questionable. This fourth try bought two bonus points and Josh Smith concluded an excellent cameo by landing the touchline conversion. Warlingham's indignation bought a yellow card for their number 8, but that was it for the day as the referee called time on a breathless finish. Warlingham’s victory was probably deserved but the hosts were aware that the old boys weren’t far from pinching the verdict.

Warlinghams report is here http://www.warlingham-rfc.com/News/Default.aspx#toggle

Next week the old boys host Sevenoaks hoping for more than bonus points. 2.30pm, Park Langley