G's v Old Walcountians

Cast your minds back to October - an EG 1st XV still adapting to level 7 rugby followed a home win against Kingston with a trip to Old Walcountians, looking to build momentum and establish the mid-table pecking order. On a vast pitch that favoured OW’s dangerous broken-field runners, EG’s pressure and possession wasn’t enough, slipping to a demoralising 9-point defeat. The one that got away.

East Grinstead rugby in January 2024 is a different animal. Resilient and humbled by their defeats, with stalwarts John Peaty and Dan Poulton now returned from injury, and new blood arriving in the outside backs, Old Walcountians wouldn’t recognise this revitalised EG team. The sun was out, the pitch was soft, and the boys were primed to perform.

Before all the home fans had even emerged from the pre-match lunch, the boys had made a hell of an opening statement using their scrummaging superpower. OW’s, being cleanly and quickly driven backwards off their own ball, had had their first warning.

It wasn’t long before the backs showed what their skills and support lines could do, with Jake Radcliffe gliding down his wing to score in the corner. As Oli Billin nailed a trademark conversion from the touchline, we showed we could be dangerous from anywhere.

Not to deprive supporters of both sides some drama, OW’s struck straight back after struggling to retain the ball at a scrum, unleashing their powerful 12 stepping his way through a disconnected defence for a solo score from their 10m line. Five minutes later, Radcliffe was off his wing combining with debutant Sam Musgrave who put his centre partner Ben Saunders away in the corner. Another tricky conversion - no problem. The G’s defence remained steadfast for the rest of the half, doggedly holding out the OW forwards on the try line. Only another Radcliffe break would add to the score taking a 21-7 lead into half time.

Having controlled the game, but not yet killed it, the first score of the second half would be crucial. From the first lineout, the forwards strung together several tight phases to inch deeper into the 22. When the backs were finally brought into play out wide, debutant Noah Roberts (playing out of position at scrum half) was able to enjoy quick ruck ball to put Saunders over the line for his second try of the day, securing the 4-try bonus point.

And so the game continued, with EG in control but occasional lapses of discipline allowing OWs back into the game. Their second try, almost identical to their first, came from a retreating scrum feeding the ball to their 12 breaking the line from their own half. Going into the last quarter, OWs were down but not out and despite more robust defending, a series of almost 20 phases chipped away at the gain line before the visiting forwards eventually muscled over the line for their third try.

Unfazed by a precarious 5-point lead, EG controlled the final 10 mins with aplomb - OWs didn’t make it out of their half and barely touched the ball. To close out the game, the EG scrum continued to turn the screw on the try line, before a couple of penalties finally allowed the backs to finish with a flourish, sending Musgrave over from short range for a try on debut to end the match. Oli Billin’s final conversion completed another flawless performance from the tee, and a final score of 38-19 sent OW’s home empty handed and overtaken by EG to 8th in the league.

With 3 tries and 2 assists combined, the new centre partnership of Saunders and Musgrave impressed, with the former earning Man of the Match. And with an equally impressive penalty count, captain Ryland Thomas graciously accepted Dick of the Day.

This week we host bottom-of-the-league Old Cranleighans (our last home game for a month) before a rescheduled away trip to 11th-placed Kingston and a real opportunity to build momentum into the big one at unbeaten Teddington. That’s when we’ll really see how far this squad has come this season.