The season definer!

Conditions were ideal for a good game of rugby, dry and firm underfoot. Warlingham kicked off and it was well taken by Lewis who ran it back in Warlingham half. Aaron took the ball on but it was knocked on in the tackle and from the scrum Warlingham attacked back into the Cats half. However good tackling by Cats and from the ruck the ball is released by Rory to Tom who dummy’s the pass and ghosts into the resulting gap. After drawing the fullback, Tom passes inside to Josh who runs it in for a good score, converted by Rory. Cats 7 -0 Warlingham. From the kick-off Warlingham again apply pressure but Cats are up to it and eventually Rory gets his hands on the ball before passing to Tom who makes ground. The ball is then passed to Aaron in space and he makes no mistake, running it in from the half way for another good score, converted by Rory. Cats 14 -0 Warlingham. From the next kick-off Warlingham tails are up and they throw everything at Cats, eventually crossing the line but well held up by a resilient Cats defence. From the resulting 5 metre scrum Rory passes back to Tom whose clearing kick bounces over the Warlingham fullback into Warlingham’s half. Excellent chase by Toby sees him scrag the Warlingham fullback and from the resulting ruck Conor charges to within a metre of the line before good cover defence wraps him up however good support by Lewis sees him on hand to pick up and go over for the third Cats score, unconverted. Cats 19 -0 Warlingham. Warlingham restart but the ball is well caught by Dan. O who charges through the Warlingham forwards and into their 22 before being tackled. The ball is quickly moved along the line to Will Mac who runs it in at the corner, unconverted. Cats 24 -0 Warlingham. Warlingham attack strongly from the kick-off and pressure Cats but again the defence is solid and Cats get a scrum inside their 22. Rory clears quickly to Tom who makes ground before finding Josh who makes further inroads before he is caught by a desperate defence. Cats are not to be denied however and Tom takes the return pass before drawing his man and feeding Will Mac for his second score of the game, Unconverted. Cats 29 -0 Warlingham. Cats attack from the kick-off and move back to the 22 Warlingham territory, Warlingham win the ruck ball but their clearing kick is partially charged down and Rory takes it on with Lewis and Dan O lending their support. Cats win a scrum on the Warlingham 22 and Tom fakes to go left before switching play and moving ball right through Conor and then Toby who runs in another good try, converted by Tom. Cats 36 - 0 Warlingham. Warlingham again attack from the kick-off and only superb Cats defence keeps them out as they plug away at the Cats line. Warlingham launch wave after wave of attacks but cannot get across the whitewash and the Cats defence proves impregnable. Eventually, from a scrum 15 metres from Cats line Warlingham move the ball wide but Aaron strips his man of the ball and passes to Rory who makes good ground down the sideline, taken on by George and then Toby before a pass in the tackle to Josh sees him run it in under the posts, converted by Rory. Cats 43 - 0 Warlingham. The half ends and also the match as the referee stops the game due to the points differential. Cats have won and won well thereby cementing their promotion to League 3 next season.

Once again a superb performance from Cats, made even more creditable as it was the defence that really excelled. Warlingham put up a good battle and on another day may have scored several tries but Cats kept them out with a strong defensive performance. Once again the scrum was solid against a big Warlingham pack with Dan O. Toby and Conor providing a solid front row while also providing good options in the loose. George and Jamie put in the hard work in the tight against a very committed Warlingham side who dominated at the breakdown but could find no way through. Lewis was heavily involved in the tight battle while his support play earned him a good try while Dan D had a standout game, leading by example and not only putting immense pressure on the opposition but being vey unlucky not to score himself. Will Morris tackled well and provided good linking between forwards and backs always making sure the ball was quickly provided to Rory to launch another attack. Rory had another excellent game, taking the right options, getting the backs going and making some good runs to clear Cats lines and set the ball up. Tom bamboozled his opposite number and created several tries through his running and positional play. Will Mac and Josh ran strongly in the centre providing good options as was evident with 2 tries apiece for them. Aaron and Jack supported strongly with Aaron doing good work defensively and was justly rewarded with a try while Ben had another good game at fullback, steady under the high ball and attacking well when given the opportunity.

This game more than anything defined the Cats season. Lessons taken on board during the year especially defensively came to the fore and attacking options were clearer with the support play in particular good to see. The whole squad can be very proud of their performance over the whole season in achieving promotion to League 3 on their own merits, not having to rely on other means to achieve their end. As a quick comparison, Battersea Ironside won all 5 of their league matches with points for 188, points against 46. We won 4 out of 5 with points for 178, points against 48.