Match report by Clive Cheal

Ten years ago, Warlingham were competing in London Division 2, their ‘old boy’, Chris Robshaw was England captain, and, although in a downturn, they had been one of the strongest teams competing in the London section for many years; Reigate were fighting in Surrey 3 – a disparity of five divisions. Whilst this statistic is somewhat meaningless a decade later, it does put into perspective the ‘David and Goliath’ of the two clubs, which still has resonance today.

Therefore, the score, whilst disappointing, is no disgrace – Warlingham are rebuilding, are on the up, are likely to move to higher plains next season; Reigate are still consolidating, nurturing younger, inexperienced players, showing what grass roots rugby represents…the enjoyment of the moment, whilst pulling together past history, and building unique memories. The ‘old crowd’, celebrating their past successes at Colley Lane yesterday, enjoyed a superb lunch, a chance to catch up, reminisce and give the clubhouse the buzz and vibrancy it deserves [well done, Julian, for the organisation].

On the pitch, we competed for much of the contest, taking the game to Warlingham, and being unfortunate not to add at least a couple more scores to our tally – a well worked try down the blindside for Sami, after great interplay from forwards and backs, and a fine individual try from Robbie, who stepped and then bounced defenders on his way to the whitewash [Josh Saunders converted], after good hassling by Seb to put us on the front foot. However, the characteristic turn overs, when we are attacking, leading to opposition pitch length dashes towards our line is an area to examine and try to eradicate, alongside continuing to build strength in tackles [particularly as tiredness kicks in later in the match] and line speed in defence. This not to say that this is a constant; there were many full-on defensive strikes [Josh Saunders saving a certain try in the first half; Will, Callum, Luke, Ryan, Rob, George, Josh Smith – alongside others - hitting the green shirted enemy with venom and putting them into a slightly more indecisive state of mind, leading to attacking mistakes].

Going forward, apart from the two scores, Will made strong breaks, Robbie looked dangerous, Dan B charged up field and there were passages of exciting interplay, alongside forward surges in Warlingham territory, almost leading to further points for us [‘handsome’ {his definition, although he is quite gorgeous} Dan H and Fin rattling to within inches of the whitewash].

Overall, it was a day when, despite the good qualities and the effective aspects, we were outgunned by Warlingham power play and deft ball movement – as mentioned, no shame but plenty to take away and reflect on, both what went well and what can be worked on.
Matt and Ray were pleased with commitment, attitude and endurance [it was great to see, despite the game being over bar the final whistle, the Blues continuing to put pressure on until the last] and Captain Dan again epitomised the character of the side, moving to hooker, despite it being against his religion these days. Tribs, Jamie and Keelan [pint downing professor!] worked hard, and it was encouraging to see stalwart number nine Rich back in the fold. Scrums and lineouts were a mixed bag, although Wes, as ever, appeared to relish his one-on-one confrontation in the tight; the lineouts, with new combinations, a work in progress. It was really pleasing to also see a good number of the ‘walking wounded’ on the touchline – word has it that several will be returning to action soon.
‘Windy’ Miller’s [check out iconic 60s children’s TV programme Camberwick Green] pre-match weather report made great reading, although had similarities in accuracy to BBC weatherman Michael Fish’s forecast prior to the Great Storm of 1987…I am sure sunnier afternoons will hove into view as the season moves on.

Final word: to the ‘’comedic savant’ on the touchline, sporting Warlingham colours – you should get an agent; it seems a shame that you have to stand there handling yourself!