Despite some flickers of their expansive and powerful rugby, a much changed Warlingham were ground down by a powerful and unbeaten Old Johnians side at Hamsey Green.

A pre-match curtain raiser and guard of honour from their under 9s squad and packed touchline of supporters gave the Wars a boost and, despite defending for much of the half, they did so with vigour and tenacity. Ultimately the Wars failed to take the few chances they were afforded in the first half, too eager maybe to try to score on every play. Man of the match and debutant Jamie Hughes added intensity and determination in defence and carrying the ball. Front row Matt Barnett drove through much bigger opponents while Callum Wand and Joel Munroe looked most likely to break the opposition down with their dancing feet in the backs. Johnians however kept banging on the door and ended the half 0-19 to the good, which was slightly flattering given Warlingham’s missed chances.

The second half was tough for the home side with a few injuries to contend with. Evergreen Alex Nunn and the nuggety Elliott Jones added some strong running from the bench. Warlingham’s tries came in a purple patch midway through the second stanza. First Hughes broke from the base of a wheeling scrum up the touch line, barrelling over defenders, before a neat pass to scrum half Lewis Hazeldine who in turn found Wars skipper Morgan Gillam on the charge inside. A well deserved try met with huge cheers from the crowd.

Soon after a period of sustained pressure, with good offloads out of contact, Hazeldine’s clever flicked pass found Munroe’s perfect attacking line at pace, leaving defenders trailing in his wake for try number two. Back row Olly Wilson nailed the two conversions.

Had Warlingham been able to secure the next score, there may have been nerves from the visitors but a couple of late scores and a penalty in front of the sticks sealed the game and a bonus point for Old Johnians 14-39.

Warlingham will look to regroup for the first of 3 away fixtures beginning at London Exiles this Saturday with confidence of a first league win of the season still high.