A thrilling match up between Seaford and our 1st XV was Saturday’s fixture, which played out under the warm September sun - until it didn’t, when those big storm clouds came rolling in! Giving us his insight into the team’s performance is none other than Senior Head Coach, Tom Street.

FINAL SCORE
Warlingham 18 - 24 Seaford

Warlingham RFC hosted Seaford RFC this past Saturday in a highly encouraging preseason friendly. Taking on a team two leagues above us, the squad showed remarkable spirit, commitment, and progress as they continue their development. An incredible 27 players were rotated throughout the match, with every player who has trained this preseason given the opportunity to take to the field. This showcased real club spirit, especially considering over 30 players had been involved in the Veterans’ game the night before. The depth and availability of the squad is a testament to the strong culture at Warlingham RFC.

Warlingham began brightly, with Andrew Dearden diving over after an excellent catch and drive to score the opening try. Despite strong early play, exits proved to be a challenging area, and Seaford capitalised, scoring their first try following an effective catch-and-drive and successive carrier phases. Throughout, Warlingham remained a constant threat, with Noah and Moses creating space in the backline and excellent hands moving the team into scoring positions. Jamie, our powerful Number 8, crashed over for the second try, giving Warlingham a 10-5 lead, though the conversion was missed.

Warlingham applied sustained pressure with superb carries from Fudge and outstanding scrummaging from Tom Worrall. Despite this, a brilliant line break from Seaford’s centre led to the away team taking a 12-10 lead. As the game progressed, rotation and positional changes caused some disruption, but the effort from club stalwarts Tom Gowers and Matt Tallboys kept the team competitive. Jonah Clay made a standout first XV debut, impressing throughout. Rory Sharp and Captain Morgan produced massive carries, maintaining constant pressure on the Seaford defence. Ollie Wilson added a penalty before the end of the second quarter, putting Warlingham back in front at 13-12. However, Seaford responded strongly after half-time, scoring twice to move to a 24-13 lead.

As consistency and understanding improved late in the game, Moses powered through multiple defenders and offloaded to Dearden for his second try, showing the potential and skill growing within the squad. Unfortunately, with Warlingham firmly on top, worsening weather with lightning led the referee to call the game off with seven minutes remaining. This friendly highlighted the real progress Warlingham RFC is making. Nearly beating a team two leagues higher, giving 27 players valuable game time (many out of position), and demonstrating determination, skill, and cohesion, the squad is developing week by week. The club is clearly moving in the right direction, with ambitions to restore Warlingham RFC to the leagues where it rightly belongs.

The future looks bright, and this match was a clear statement of intent – Warlingham RFC is building a team capable of challenging anyone, with heart, unity, and growing ability at its core.

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