Kingston 24, O'Whitgift 13 (L)

written by Sam Johnson.

14 September 2024

Kingston welcomed Old Whitgiftians to Hook Road for the first home league game of the 2024/25 season in front of a large crowd enjoying the club’s family fun day in the early September sun.

Whits kicked off down the slope and took a 0-3 lead with an early penalty. Whits continued to make inroads from their powerful back rowers, and soon crashed over following a bullocking run through the middle. The conversion was good and Kingston were down 0-10 after 20 minutes.

Kingston were struggling to put phases together with uncharacteristically poor ball retention. There were some bright sparks in attack with fullback Lucas Fry putting Hugo Eyre through a hole in the Whits defence, only to knock the ball on. Minutes later captain Christy O’Brien made a scything break up field, but this attack also ended with a knock on. Fittingly the half ended with another knock on forced by some strong Whits defence.

Half Time - Kingston 0-10 Old Whitgiftians

The second half started in a similar vein to the first. Kingston’s attack just wasn’t clicking. After another turnover the Whits 9 chipped over the ruck and chased his own kick down over the line. The referee, unsighted, was unable to award the try, but by all accounts Whits should be frustrated that this score was chalked off.

Whits didn’t let any frustration show, and kept the scoreboard ticking with another penalty goal on the angle to make the score 0-13 with 20 minutes to go.

Kingston were finally starting to look more dangerous in attack when they were able to pull some phases together. A sweeping attack down the right wing, was thwarted by a deliberate knock on, and the Whits winger was sent to the bin. Minutes later the Whits prop was also sent to the bin for a tip tackle on flanker Theo Wedge.

Sensing that it was now or never, Kingston upped the tempo and Jonny McDunphy sent Hugo Eyre through the middle and under the posts - only for Hugo to knock it on when he was over the line. At this stage it was looking like it was not going to be Kingston’s day.

Minutes later Hugo made amends from the exact same move, making sure to carefully dot the ball down this time. Chris Ward converted to make the score 7-13.

From the restart Kingston went into full on attack and were soon camped on the Whits line. Following some strong forward carries, Jonny McDunphy put Phil Dabinski over out wide. Unfortunately Chris Ward’s conversion was just short, meaning Whits continued to lead 12-13 with 10 minutes to play and back up to a full compliment with both carded players returning to the pitch.

All momentum was now with Kingston. Following more excellent work from the pack, Jonny McDunphy hit Phil Dabinski with a bullet pass to score in the corner again. The conversion drifted wide, but Kingston had now taken the lead 17-13.

Off the restart Jonny McDunphy’s clearance kick was charged down and the ref called a scrum on the Kingston 22. The Kingston pack put on a big shove and after great pressure from the backs managed to force a turnover. Elton Gwekwete made a trademark barrelling break and an excellent offload to Phil Dabinski who raced away over the line from his own 22. The conversion was good and the referee blew full time, with Kingston coming away with a 24-13 bonus point win.

This was a much needed win for Kingston and their first in the league since January. It was a match that they would have lost last year, and it shows the amount of belief and resilience in this new team. Credit must go to Old Whits who were in control of the game for the first 60 minutes, with the yellow cards really being the turning point. Kingston know they must be better when they make the short trip to Old Wimbledonians next Saturday 21 September, 3pm KO.

Full Time - Kingston 24-13 Old Whitgiftians

Tries: Hugo Eyre, Phil Dabinski x3

Conversions: Chris Ward x2