Evening chaps,

Match Report - Old Haileburians vs Warlingham

In a spectacle that would make even the sternest rugby traditionalist crack a smile, Ruxley Lane witnessed a 80 minutes of polished carnage inflicted against Warlingham. The sun shining(ish), the turf forgiving, the boys were ready to get it.

It was a slow start. Some too-and-fro between lineout and scrum with varying success followed by a few short rallies of kick tennis, the score after 15 minutes suggested parity between the two sides, but Warlingham were tiring. Harry Clesham, the dynamo in the midst of a dispersed defense, decided to play hide-and-seek with the Warlingham players. Spoiler alert: they couldn't find him. Two tries over the course of the game, it was evident that Clesham was feeling dangerous. Benny Trimmer, not to be outdone, emerged as the point scoring maestro with a whopping five meat pies. Credit must be shared with Spilsbury and Mann who’s quick hands and shrewd angles exposed the fault lines in the opposition early doors. Despite the ascendancy residing firmly with OH, yours truly found himself in the referee's not-so-good books for a tip tackle that would be later be generously repackaged as "unconventional.” The boys were mightily grateful for the break in play, nonetheless the ref prescribed me ten minutes to have a long, hard look at myself as we hit half time (DOTD acquired). This report is severely front-loaded as the score was only 17-0 at this point…apologies.

Second half, and up went the intensity; think Remember the Name, Fort Minor. Ed Boden, who hit the field like the Terminator off the bench, made sure everyone knew he was present by bagging two statement tries. Confidence oozed in our attacking plays, with the likes of Mr Gilbert and Callum Ronald offloading like prime Milner-Skudder and Sonny Bill had relocated to Surrey. The real hero of this story, and our MOTM Tom Wright, decided to gouge holes in the Warlingham defensive line where common sense suggested there weren't any. Harmonised with a troop of supporting runners, we were spoilt for choice at every line break - Warlingham’s defence had no answer. During the brief spells when we didn’t have the ball we were an unwelcoming prospect. No way through and no way around, frankly we made Fort Knox look like a pop-up tent at Glasto. By the 70 minute mark Warlingham were goosed and out of ideas - just where we wanted them. Bloody good fun and as is so often the case, rugby and OH were the real winners. Final score 63-0.

MOTM - Tom Wright
DOTD - Joe Bryan