Old Walcountians made it two wins out of two when they held off a stiff challenge by last season’s Surrey League 1 runners-up Chipstead at the Meads last Saturday.

The Old Boys faced a tough opening 15 minutes as Chipstead made most of the running as their forwards had the edge. But Chipstead failed to make the best use of the opportunities they had, most notably when they squandered two chances to take the lead in the 10th and 11th minutes through penalties. It was Walcountians who took the lead in the 16th minute when full-back Ross Norton fielded a poorly-directed penalty clearance and counter-attacked, leaving five Chipstead defenders in his wake before finding lock Simon Fowler in support to slip the ball to centre Dan Crompton to go over for a try.

Walcountians began to feature much more prominently in the game as the backs, so impressive against Cranleigh the previous weekend, began to spin the ball out and run. Unfortunately, the combination of over-anxious handling and a determined Chipstead defence held them at bay, and the only further scoring opportunities before half-time were unsuccessful penalty attempts by Ross Norton and centre Ollie Beales.

The Old Boys continued to be more effective in taking their chances and, following a penalty from the boot of Ross Norton in the eighth minute, increased their lead in the 14th minute of the second half when flanker Sam Naylor turned over possession at a ruck and passed to fly-half Fred South who left the Chipstead defence gasping for breath as he sped for the line to score a try which Ross Norton converted. This put them 15 points clear.

Chipstead were not finished and, as the game drew to a close, rallied spectacularly to score twice within a minute. Both tries came from the speedy Chipstead left-winger who even managed to give Walcountians speedsters like Ryan McGibbon and Dan Crompton a difficult time. With 33 minutes gone, Chipstead’s big No 8 rode a tackle and passed the ball to his winger who beat of the covering Walcountians defence to touch down. A minute later, the same player scored again after Chipstead counter-attacked straight from the kick-off and ran the ball straight down the field past a stunned Walcountians defence.

The Old Boys however proved resilient and, for the first time in the match, the forwards began to turn the tables on Chipstead with lock Simon Fowler outstanding in both the rucks and in driving play forward. No further tries came but Walcountians did earn two penalties which Ross Norton put away with ease.

Walcountians now stand second in Surrey League 1 on nine points, with Old Blues now in the lead after hammering Old Paulines and earning bonus points which have put them one point clear.

Walcountians host Kingston at Clock House on Saturday (3pm).