O'Wimbledonians 46, Kingston 10

written by Sam Johnson.

21 September 2024.

On another sunny September Saturday Kingston made the short trip to Raynes Park to face an in form Old Wimbledonians outfit.

OWs kicked off and immediately put Kingston under pressure with effective forward play and strong running through the backs. Kingston were under the cosh and this was reflected in the penalty count reflected. OWs took full advantage of this lack of discipline, with their 10 slotting two early penalty goals.

Following some kick tennis, OWs capitalised on a Kingston fumble in the back field and stormed over the line for a breakaway try.

Further indiscipline allowed OWs to keep the scoreboard ticking over with a further penalty goal, before another kick into the backfield led to an OWs scrum on the Kingston 5m line. Kingston were penalised at scrum and OWs tapped and went quickly to score in the corner.

OWs kept their foot on the gas and scored a further try from a well worked line out move, with a dummy to the back, the front pod took the ball without jumping, and surged through a gaping hole, showing great pace to get away from the cover.

OWs were in full flow now, and were playing with real confidence. Kingston were scrambling and centre Zach Drennan was shown an unfortunate yellow card for a seatbelt tackle. After some lovely play through the middle, with offloads and tip passes, they were soon under the posts for the final try of the half. Such was the accuracy of the OWs attack, Kingston just couldn’t get their hands on the ball, and went into the half 33-0 down.

Half Time: Old Wimbledonians 33-0 Kingston

Kingston finally started to get their act together in the second half, with a lovely break from Hamish McRae down the left wing. The ball was recycled quickly and Phil Dabinski went over in the right corner after some great footwork.

OWs hit immediately back with a further penalty goal following (another) high tackle penalty. This was quickly followed by a further OWs try from close range.

Kingston were putting up a much better fight in the second half and No.8 Hugo Eyre went over from a nice lineout move, carrying several OWs tacklers with him.

Centre Connor Ashwin was making some powerful surges, and soon escaped down the right touch line. Unfortunately his chip and chase went over the dead ball line, leading to a scrum to OWs back on their 22m line. Hugo Eyre also made some denting runs, with one particular burst down the left wing only stopped by an excellent ankle tap from OWs.

Fittingly the game finished with a final OWs penalty. Full credit must go to a very dangerous OWs outfit, who were dominant from the off. Their 10’s metronomic boot was an exceptional weapon all day, and on the short pitch visiting sides will want to be careful of giving away penalties from anywhere within their own half. Kingston must now dust themselves off and regroup before hosting a strong Metropolitan Police side next Saturday.

Post match the boys will be heading into London for our annual Oktoberfest social - grab your lederhosen and join us for some steins, bratwurst and sauerkraut at Katzenjammers.

Full Time: Old Wimbledonians 46-10 Kingston

Tries: Phil, Hugo