The scene was perfectly set on a sunny September afternoon. Both teams refusing to give an inch, sparking an early kick battle for territory. A converted penalty within the first five minutes put the visitors in the lead.

Cats looked to bounce back immediately and were gifted the opportunity to do so through an early yellow card for Warlingham’s second row due to foul play.

Now with an extra man on the field, Taylor Harris used his trusty boot to give Cats a lineout in a favourable position which, courtesy of a Tom Clayton line break, opened the space for Cats to work the ball wide and allow Alex Criscuolo to go over the try line.

Only three minutes later, the visitors looked to go wide only to see a handling error pounced on by Tom Clayton who ran the ball under the posts from inside the halfway line, which put the home side further ahead 14-3.

With the wind in their sails, Cats applied more pressure to the Warlingham backline. Another well worked move which found the hands of George Nye, who went on to beat six defenders and finish an outstanding solo try.

Warlingham were not going to go down without a fight. A well exploited 50:22 kick led to an ideally placed scrum, much to the delight of their experienced front row. Following several scrum resets, the Warlingham number 8 finally muscled the ball over the line. Cats remained ahead at half time 21-10.

An early piece of ill-discipline allowed Warlingham to convert an early second half penalty, however once again Old Cats bounced straight back to score thanks to a snaking finish from captain Oscar Nye. Cats continued to build the score line after Clayton slotted a penalty kick to take a 31-13 lead.

The physicality of the Caterhamians was evident. Dominant tackles from George Perry, Sam Lloyd and Callum Buchan nullified each attack that Warlingham could muster.

With confidence high, Cats capitalised on every mistake that presented itself. Poor kick clearances allowed the ever-clinical duo of George Nye and Alex Criscuolo to each score their second tries of the day.

The final whistle now beckoning Tom Clayton found a gap to put Matthew Wilson on a forty-metre-long charge. A delightful duo of dummy passes took him over the line and secured a famous Old Cats victory.

Full time score: Old Caterhamians 50 – 13 Warlingham

Oscar Nye, Old Cats 1st XV Captain, appreciated both the team and supporters.

“I’m very proud of the boy’s performance today, we stuck to our plan for the full eighty minutes and the score line reflected that. Thank you to all who came and supported. A great day for the club”.

Plenty of positives to be carried into next week’s fixture away to Law Society.