Powerplay: Purley John Fisher dominated their game against Kingston in October. At least both clubs were able to field full teams on this occasion
Inside Croydon was first to report the collapse in player numbers in local men’s grassroots rugby. The Daily Torygraph played catch-up with their broader look at the alarming decline in coarse rugby across England. Here, in JOHNNY DOBBYN’s 2024-2025 half-term report, he finds local clubs still struggling to fulfil their fixtures
Walkover. It’s the dread word that is cropping up increasingly often on the pages of the RFU’s club results website on a Saturday evening. “Away Walkover” is a cause for a mix of particular shame and bitter disappointment for clubs, after a side has been unable to fulfil its hosting commitments, usually because of a lack of fit and available players. Not only is the game forfeited, there’s often a league points penalty applied, too. And the club’s bar takings take an inevitable dip.
While walkovers are occurring in all local leagues, it’s in the old Surrey 1 – what the blazers at Twickenham now call Counties 2 Surrey – where the problem is most marked. This season, between September 14 and December 21, eight walkovers were conceded in the division.
Just sooo last century: an old-school teamsheet from one local club from 1997, with 75 players listed, plus reserves. Most clubs struggle to get one XV out these days
This reaches beyond usual suspects like Old Cranleighans who, until last season, seemed to enjoy some kind of magical protection from the authorities at Surrey county RFU from the consequences of its not fulfilling fixtures.
Now practically every team in the league has been conceding walkovers.
Old Cranleighans (natch), have now been joined by Bec Old Boys, Kingston, Old Walcountians, Chipstead, Purley John Fisher and Met Police in simply not playing certain league games.
In a recent example, the Met Police and PJF mutually missed their league games. The Police at least turned up with an incomplete side for its away game at PJF, more than PJF did in the return leg, blaming a “perfect storm” of injury and unavailability on December 14.
In mitigation, PJF asserts that had its match against the Met kicked off at 12.30, it would have competed and there would still have been time for key players to get to work that afternoon. Unsurprisingly, the Met had an issue with the earlier time, its own players being unavailable thanks to the shift-based nature of police work. PJF will incur the points deductions on this occasion.
More positively, and when able to turn up, one local club, at least, has been enjoying success in their league.
Table-toppers: Sanderstead-based Trinity started out the Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex season with nine wins in succession
Trinity play in the division above Counties 2 Surrey, in Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex, which, as the name suggests, includes clubs from all the way to the south coast. Trinity narrowly avoided relegation last year, but they had a storming start to this season, with nine consecutive wins to see them topping the table.
That early form has slipped, with three comprehensive defeats since the end of November, but they are a solid fifth, with just six points covering the top five. Their next game is at home to eighth-placed Hove at Lime Meadow Avenue in Sanderstead this Saturday, January 4.
Counties 2 Surrey has Old Caterhamians topping the table with a 10-2 win-loss record with Chipstead third despite offering up an AWO to Old Cats within a few weeks of the season’s start.
Old Whitgiftians and Purley John Fisher have been tussling over the mid-table places, with OWs ending 2024 in fifth and PJF seventh. Whits have recorded big wins at Old Walcountians (25-52) and over Kingston (78-7), but only just shaded PJF away at Parsons Pightle in Old Coulsdon 12-19.
Most of Old Whits’ losses have been narrow, which bodes well for later, although three of the six have been to the bottom sides. Consistency will be necessary to see the rest of this season out well, though conceding a dread “AWO” to Bec Old Boys on December 21 probably wasn’t the kind of Christmas giveaway they might have been hoping for.
Flying start: Trinity, in blue, will be seeking to recover their early season, unbeatable form. Pic: Peter Filewood
All being well, Old Whits play host to league leaders Old Cats at Croham Road in South Croydon on Saturday afternoon.
PJF is having more of a mixed time, with six wins to seven defeats. Among the former have been some strong results but they have also found ways to throw away games with slim scorelines when more discipline, less chat and greater intensity may have seem them much further up the table.
That could, or should, start at Old Blues, the 11th of the division’s 12 clubs, this Saturday.
Old Walcountians dropped into the division this season, thanks to one of the RFU’s confusing and usually pointless league reorganisations. The demoralisation that comes with such a relegation is evident in this year’s results, with Counts occasionally struggling to put out a side and only managing four wins so far.
Luckily, bonus points for tries and near losses have kept them clear of the three sides below them – Old Cranleighans, Old Blues and Kingston – although they will need to make sure they turn up and win at least twice more this season to avoid the drop for a second successive time. They have an opportunity to go some way to securing their status when their play Old Cranleighans at their home ground in Woodmansterne this Saturday.
Below this clutch of clubs, things in Counties 3 Surrey are even less encouraging for local sides.
Streatham and Croydon were promoted to Counties 3 Surrey this year and will feel ambivalent about results so far. On one hand, they are a steady seventh in the league with four wins and one draw, but will rue the loss of momentum that normally comes with a promotion, after suffering a raft of “old guard” retirements and some narrow defeats.
Streatham and Croydon play London Media at their Frant Road ground in Thornton Heath this Saturday.
Rooted to the bottom of Counties 3 Surrey, Warlingham’s situation has only worsened. After a miserable season last year which saw them relegated for the second successive year, the first XV have only managed one win all season – that on December 21, when they won the “derby” against Streatham and Croydon 17-8. It was Warlingham’s first win since January 2024.
When the early beatings started to stack up, the hope at Hamsey Green had been that, having played the teams in the top half of the table, the clubs in the bottom half might prove more amenable. But with 10 out of 20 fixtures now played, that hasn’t been the case and, without a miraculous reversal in fortunes, a third successive relegation seems to beckon.
At the lowest level – Level 11 – of the English rugby pyramid sits Counties 5 Surrey. In the absence of Old Suttonians, who dropped from the league completely last season, the unofficial title of “England’s Worst Rugby Club” (in the competitive structure), with no wins in 10 fixtures so far this season is firmly in the grasp of Merton RFC.
Merton’s last five “results” read:
L 80-5
L HWO
L AWO
L 76-3
L 17-55
Grim doesn’t even begin to describe things there.
Four places above Merton, in sixth place in what is the lowest tier in English rugby, is Croydon RFC. Formed from a merger of Croydonians and Shirley Wanderers in 2003, Croydon’s four wins to date this season should keep them off the bottom of the table. Besides, there’s no division below them, so its impossible to get relegated from Counties 5 Surrey. Happy days…
Read more: Rapid decline in numbers shows that ‘coarse’ rugby is ‘at risk’
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