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Warlingham look home-sick as they suffer another defeat

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Bending over backwards: Warlingham locl forward Thornton takes control of a difficult line-out

Bending over backwards: Warlingham lock forward David Thornton takes control of a difficult line-out

RUGBY ROUND-UP: Three games into the league season, and life in London 2SW looks like it could be far from straightforward for Warlingham, who are suffering from a bout of home-sickness, losing at Hamsey Green for the second time in a fortnight, 3-36 to a powerful Tottonians side.

The signs were ominous for the home side when the visitors, from Southampton, scored with a No8 move off the back of a five-metre scrum almost directly from the kick-off.

Warlingham full-back Joe McEvoy pulled back three points with a penalty but that was to be the only time Warlingham changed the scoreboard. Despite breaks from fly-half Harry Wrightson and lock David Thornton, the Warlingham attack, with limited possession, was unable to breach the visitors’ line. New prop Lewis Unsworth held firm in the tight and hooker Dan Street dented the Tottonians defence.

But all their endeavours were insufficient to control the waves of Tottonian attacks. Two further tries followed for the visitors before half-time and with Dan Street and Brad Saffery being given 10-minute breaks from the game by the referee, with the home side reduced to 13 men, Tottonians secured their bonus point with two further tries.

“Tottonians are a strong side – but we’ll find every game difficult in this league so we just have to dig deep and put the effort in on the training pitch,” said Ben Stobart, Warlingham’s head coach, who has a week’s break from league action.

Midwives’ Laurence Oliver (who’s handy with Henry V speeches before games, too, no doubt) takes the attack to Sandown and Shanklin last Saturday

Some of the club’s second XV might have hoped to be given an opportunity to show what they can do in an Intermediate Cup match this Saturday, after they enjoyed an emphatic 45-5 win over local rivals Chipstead last week.

But without adequate front-row options, Warlingham have had to cancel the cup tie, and take a fine and a ban from the competition for a couple of years.

The Surrey county league season got underway last weekend, with a mixed bag of results for the local sides.

Old Whitgiftians went straight to the top of Surrey 1 after despatching Old Cranleighians 32-7, while down in Surrey 3, Streatham and Croydon, having been relegated last season, had a comfortable opener, 59-20 against Bec Old Boys.

But there were defeats for the two sides in Surrey 2, Croydon unlucky to go down 13-15 at home against Guildfordians, while Old Walcountians appear to have another hard slog ahead of them after losing 29-14 at Old Emmanuel.

In the regional division above the Surrey divisions, Old Mid-Whitgiftians scored their third win from three in London 3SW, seeing off Sandown and Shanklin 39-29 to keep themselves in early contention for promotion, while Purley-John Fisher broke their 2014-2015 duck in emphatic style with a 40-7 win at Trojans.

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