Warlingham’s unbeaten home run came to an end when they could only manage a losing bonus point against fellow strugglers, Weybridge Vandals.

Missing a handful of regulars through injuries, Warly were forced to make changes. Versatile forward, James Delderfield getting a rare start in the back-row.

Warly took an early lead with a long range penalty from reliable full-back, Jack Atkinson.

Vandals responded immediately. Playing rugby with more pace and precision than the home side, Vandals crashed over near the posts for the opening try. The simple conversion slotted. 3-7.

Warlingham seemed to have the upper hand. Dominating the forward exchanges through powerful carries from Connor McDonald, Delderfield and prop, George Bench. However with the line out not functioning, handling errors and Vandals strong over the ball, Warlingham yet again failed to turn pressure into points.

Vandals played with confidence and invention, and it was no surprise when they created an overlap on the left side, to walk in for their 2nd try, 3-12.

A Vandals player was then shown a yellow card for a high, try saving tackle on Atkinson. Warlingham finally made possession count when stocky centre, Mathew Richards powered over ahead of the break after a lovely delayed pass from Alex Sampson. Atkinson again consistent from the kicking tee. 10-12 at the break.

5 minutes into the 2nd half, Warlingham had the chance to take the lead but an Atkinson penalty went agonisingly wide of the right upright.

The 3rd quarter was evenly balanced with both sides trying to unlock each other’s defence. Warlingham captain Paddy Green defended with aggression and, to their credit, Warly absorb wave after wave of Vandals attacks before clearing their lines.

With 10 minutes remaining Atkinson punished Vandals again, this time for being offside in midfield. The simple penalty in front of the sticks sailed through. 13-12.

With the clock ticking down, the home supporters hoped their team could hang on to the slender lead, but it wasn’t to be. With giant Centre, David Priest in the sin-bin for a high tackle, Vandals capitalised on the extra numbers and drove over from close range to claim the victory. 13-17.

“The foundations are there. We are dominating possession in games, however our ability to execute in attack is not at the level we need it to be to win matches”. “Vandals played with urgency and took their few chances well”. “I need a reaction from the whole squad now. We’ll watch the video during the week and identify where we need to improve”, said Warlingham Director of Rugby, Nick Warren.

After 7 games, Warlingham RFC find themselves in the bottom half of the table. They’ll need to improve their performance when they travel to 3rd place Old Cranlieghans this Saturday.

Mark Kozminski