On a perfect day for running rugby, the blue and whites went over for 4 tries and left a few points on the field as they sharpened their skills ahead of the first league test next week.

Picking up after an early converted try from the home side, Warlingham took the game by the scruff of the neck. Strong running from man of the match Riley Potter and the dynamic Dylan Westoby advanced the Wars endeavours. Quick ball was hard to come by as OPs sought to control the breakdown, occasionally illegally, with a number of tap penalties and short range drives expertly repelled by the big Pauline pack.

Finally the dam broke and Potter plunged over twice from short range in short order off the back of classy hands from the back line. Returning pack star Harry Cave’s close support helped drive Potter over the line. Both tries were converted by Olly Wilson.

In truth, Warlingham should have ended the half with a couple more scores with Reuben Galvau and Lewis Hazeldine pulling the strings but a little rustiness, strong goal line defence and a tendency to try to bash the door down kept the score at 7-14 at halftime.

The second half saw two tries of great quality from Warlingham either side of a barnstorming score from OPs.

Having taken the hard yards through the pack with Andrew Dearden, Morgan Gillam, Joe Kelly and Spencer Clifford to the fore, the backs took control. The impressive halves fed centre Olly Wilson with time and space, he spun the ball early to Mark Chatfield who drew the defenders and unleashed winger Noah Clay up the touch line. Clay looked to be dashing home but unselfishly pulled the ball back to Chatfield to score, tracking back on the inside line to support. A clinical finish and an excellently executed move to exploit space out wide.

The missed touchline conversion from Galvau gave OPs a sniff of victory and they duly threw the kitchen sink at Warlingham. A packed bench of grizzled veterans helped to keep OPs refreshed and it took all of Wars might to hold them at bay. Warlingham’s own veterans stood up like heroes and held managed the game expertly. Alex Nunn, Scott Toomey and Alex Glover were outstanding and rolled back the years to get Warly over the line.

A turnover deep in Warlingham’s half was scooped up by scrum half Hazeldine and his pass freed Clay to sprint 80 metres up the touch line to crown a good day at the office. Galvau converted and, despite a further couple of certain Warly tries from clean breaks pulled back for forward passes, the final whistle saw a 14-26 win for Warlingham.

After 3 games and weeks of hard pre-season work, the players are ready for the first league outing away to Streatham-Croydon next week. Maximum support please. Here’s to an enjoyable and successful season.