Old Reigatian made it three wins on the bounce with a 37–19 away win against Old Hamptonians on Saturday, producing a dominant set-piece display, five tries and a determined defensive performance to secure all five points in the Counties 1 Surrey/Sussex fixture.
It was not the most auspicious start to proceedings. With the changing rooms a ten-minute walk from the pitch, a rather lackadaisical warm-up was compounded by a further ten-minute delay after a hole was discovered in the playing surface. ORs also faced the prospect of playing the first half uphill and into the sun.
Despite the less-than-ideal preparations, ORs started brightly and enjoyed plenty of early pressure, being held up over the Hamptonians line twice in the opening ten minutes. On one occasion, Val Garrec looked poised to add to his try tally, only for the hosts to keep him out. However, an early knock-on eventually handed possession back to Hamptonians, who made the most of their opportunity, finding territory with a well-judged 50:22 before a succession of penalties allowed them to apply pressure close to the line. Despite some initially resolute defending, repeated pick-and-goes eventually saw the hosts crash over for the opening try.
ORs responded well, with pressure from the restart forcing a Hamptonians knock-on and presenting the visitors with an attacking scrum. The pack were quick to establish their authority, winning a penalty which Henry Hamps converted to get the scoreboard moving.
The lineout was proving equally fruitful. Good work from Burton, Grant and Gregson saw the visitors steal Hamptonians’ first four lineouts, leaving the hosts struggling to establish any meaningful platform. With the set piece firmly under control, ORs began to build sustained pressure.
A period of possession deep in the Hamptonians half eventually yielded a penalty advantage at the scrum. Kristian Sadler picked up from the base, fed John Ormrod, who found captain Tom Allen on the charge. Allen did the rest, powering over to put the visitors ahead. The conversion was missed, but ORs had their noses in front.
Henry Hamps was next to get on the scoresheet, extending the visitors’ advantage with a try. Hamptonians were finding it increasingly difficult to deal with the pressure from ORs’ box kicks and the continued disruption of their lineout.
The third try was arguably the pick of the first half. From a scrum on the halfway line, ORs executed a well-timed move which released Ollie Burnett into space down the wing. Burnett finished well to take the visitors’ lead to 20–7.
Hamptonians responded in the closing stages of the half, putting together their best passage of attacking rugby through the backs and finding a way over the line. The conversion was missed, leaving ORs with a 20–12 advantage at the interval.
The visitors started the second half somewhat slowly, enjoying plenty of possession and territory in the Hamptonians’ half without initially finding a way through. However, as the forwards and backs began to link more effectively, the attacking opportunities started to arrive.
Ben Holder was influential in bringing the right runners into the line, helping create opportunities for those around him. It was his pass that created the fourth try, with a well-timed miss pass finding Jonny Bridges out wide. Bridges grubbered ahead, chased his own kick and dotted down in the corner.
With nobody having thought to bring on the kicking tee, Hamps was left racing against the clock and calmly drop-kicked the conversion from the touchline. An unconventional approach, but two points all the same.
The next try was born out of defensive pressure rather than attacking ambition. Hamptonians spilled possession in the ORs 22 and ORs were quick to punish them, kicking deep into the opposition 22. Harrison, Allen and Burnett chased back, bringing down the returning runner before combining to force a penalty for holding on.
Allen was alert to the opportunity, taking a quick tap and running virtually untouched under the posts to secure his second try of the afternoon. Hamps added the conversion to take the score to 34–12.
Hamptonians refused to lie down and enjoyed a spell of sustained pressure, with a couple of line breaks eventually seeing their second row break through into ORs’ 22. A well-sold dummy wrong-footed Holder, allowing him to run in under the posts and reduce the deficit to 15 points.
A late penalty from Hamps added the final three points to take the score to 37–19, leaving ORs with a 18-point lead with the match in the closing stages.
The final five minutes provided one last test of the visitors’ defensive resolve. Hamptonians threw everything at ORs’ line in search of a losing bonus point, but the visitors defended resolutely. Despite wave after wave of pressure, ORs held firm, eventually managing to hold the ball up over the line to bring the contest to a close.
There were plenty of positives to take from the afternoon, not least the contribution of two debutants. Charlie Kuchta made an immediate impact at the breakdown, disrupting Hamptonians’ possession and making life difficult for the hosts. Eon Van den Berg was equally solid, putting in a good defensive performance and organising the line well.
Harrison Mitchell also deserves a mention for stepping in at scrum-half for the second half in place of John Ormrod, while Dan Jones returned to the starting line-up following a two-week silent meditation retreat in South Korea. This clearly paid dividends as he surprisingly managed to get through the afternoon without conceding a single penalty. The inclusion of veteran prop Seal on the bench also added further ballast to the squad.
Ultimately, this was a solid away performance. The scrum and lineout provided a strong platform, the backs made good use of the opportunities created, and the defensive effort in the closing stages demonstrated the resilience required to see out a difficult away fixture.
With three consecutive victories now secured, ORs will take plenty of confidence from a performance that showcased the quality and depth developing across the squad.
- Val Garrec
- Harry Plowman
- Ethan Monk
- Dan Jones
- Joe Gregson
- Dan Grant
- Ollie Burton
- Kristian Sadler
- John Ormrod
- Ben Holder
- Ollie Burnett
- Eon VanDen Berg
- Tom Allen
- Jonny Bridges
- Henry Hamps
Subs
- Mike Layzell
- Charlie Kuchta
- Harrison Mitchell
