The Counts made a strong start and dominated possession and territory in the first half as their pack won the ball at will. Props James Ford and Dom Bell anchored a solid set scrum, Joe Lawrence and Scott Bird dominated the lineouts and lock Tom Brown was prominent in leading a cavalry charge in the forwards which pinned Kingston in their own 22 for much of the half.

However, the points did not come easily. A penalty from full-back Hal Mogridge opened the scoring in the 10th minute, but it took Walcountians until the 24th minute to cross the Kingston line when Tom Brown broke from the 22-metre line to pound his way through Kingston’s defence and touch down.

Four minutes later, Walcountians increased their lead when Joe Henderson, playing in the unaccustomed position of centre, opened a gap in Kingston’s defence with a cutting break and put in winger Marvin Fletcher-Rogers, the club’s top try scorer over the past 10 years, for a try to add to his total.

Kingston made a brief rally towards the end of the first half but it was Walcountians who scored again eight minutes into stoppage time when winger Andy Togbolah retrieved a clearance kick close to the halfway line and ran the ball back, finding replacement Brendan Murphy in support to put flanker Dylan Camakamma in for a try. This put the Counts 19 points up at the break.

Unfortunately, the second half proved costly for Walcountians as they lost the services of Tom Brown, James Ford, replacement prop Dan Bell and scrum-half Liam Moorhead through injuries and, at one point, were reduced to 14 players. Although Brown and Ford bravely returned to the field, their effectiveness was much reduced and Kingston took advantage of this to reduce the arrears with a try in the 12th minute.

Walcountians’ spirit was not undimmed and seemingly were on the way to a convincing victory after firstly Tom Brown, then No8 Scott Bird scored tries which extended their lead to 25 points by the 28th minute. But the closing minutes of the game, which had 10 minutes added on for stoppages, saw a resurgent Kingston take advantage of Walcountians’ injury woes to run in three converted tries to leave the Counts holding onto a narrow four points advantage by full-time.

A second successive victory has lifted Walcountians to seventh place in Counties League 2 Surrey and dispelled concerns that they were to be favourites for a second successive relegation. Next Saturday, they travel to Openview, Earlsfield to take on Bec Old Boys, kicking off at 3pm.

Old Walcountians:- Mogridge, Fletcher-Rogers, Moorhead (S), Henderson, Togbolah, Lever, Moorhead (L), Ford, Tilleray, Bell (Dom), Lawrence, Brown, Stevens, Camakamma, Bird.

Subs:- Bell (Dan), Blackmore, Murphy.