The Under 14 A's capped a remarkable unbeaten season with a glorious and thoroughly deserved win over old adversaries Rosslyn Park. It would be fair to say there is no love lost between Rosslyn Park and Warlingham in this age group as previous encounters have been hotly contest, tetchy affairs with little to choose between the two outfits. One the veritable Goliath of southern rugby union, the other a relative minnow punching well above its weight.

The marker had been set by the brilliant B team who, moments before the kick off, had triumphed over Old Guildfordians in a thrilling down to the wire encounter and the pressure was now on the A's to complete the double and crown a remarkable season for the year group. Only a win would do and the perfect sunny day and bone dry pitches offered no hiding place. This was going to be about rugby - pure and simple.

Rosslyn Park won the toss and elected to kick to Warlingham. The ball was lofted deep and central into Warlingham territory and Warlingham were lucky not to concede an early scrum in front of the posts as the ball wasn't caught cleanly but fortunately wasn't knocker on either. The ship was instantly steadied via a decent spell of early possession for the Warly boys with the forwards doing some sterling graft to allow scrum-half Will Oxley-Evans to supply decent ball to the backs. Several well controlled passages of play allowed the blue and whites shirts of Warlingham to move inexorably into Rosslyn Park's half and following one of a flurry of dominant rucks the ball was quickly recycled, slipped to right winger George Forkan who masterfully sidestepped three Rosslyn Park defenders and touched the ball down in the corner for the first of two brilliant early tries. As if scoring that try wasn't enough he very impressively slotted the conversion between the sticks, into the wind, from neigh on the touch line. First blood had been drawn and massive intent had been shown.
Barely had the dust settled and George Forkan was over for another after full back Ciaran Lyas joined the attacking line at speed, beautifully engaged two ' Park defender and with perfect timing passed the ball to Forkan whose pace saw him fly down the touch line and score a try fit for a team many years senior. Rosslyn Park were clearly rattled by the lightening start Warlingham had made and being 12-0 down after 7 minutes was clearly not part of the game plan!
Rosslyn Park restarted with another deep kick and this time managed to regain possession quickly and for the first time in the game they secured some quality ball in the Warlingham half. They clearly had a game plan and their 'play maker' inside center deftly offloaded the ball to their looping fly half who sprinted round a couple of Warly boys and touched the ball down to make it 12 - 5 . A breathless and highly entertaining start!
As the first half drew on it was clear that each team had worked the other out and the game became primarily a battle of the forwards with neither team willingly conceding an inch of ground and big hits coming in from stalwart back rowers Max Anderson, Harry Webzell and Xavier Simmonds-Dance keeping the normally dominant Rosslyn Park firmly rooted in the reality of a meeting with 'The Mighty Warl'. A war of attrition ensued, the stalemate only broken by a trademark big kick from inside center Ollie Hession which saw the ball lofted deep into the opposition's half and skillfully regained by the relentless hard work of the Warlingham pack. Camped on the Rosslyn Park try line hooker Ollie Haydon took his opportunity to grab the ball from the base of the ruck and pounce over the line for Warlingham's third try of the game and at last what seemed like a bit of breathing space. However, time to relax was at a premium as the dogged determination and talent of Rosslyn Park was never going to be snuffed out in one half of rugby and they came back with another well-crafted try shortly before the whistle blew for half time, taking the score to an all to play for 17 - 10.
The restart signaled business as usual as the forwards once again went toe to toe, both teams skillfully stifling attempts to move the ball wide into space. Someone was going to have to do something unexpected, un-trained, unpredictable in order to win this game and as the game started to move in Warlingham's favour scrum half Will Oxley-Evans craftily slipped a blindside ball to the charging Xavier Simmonds-Dance and nothing was going to stop him powering over to make it 22 - 10 with about 12 minutes to go.
A few stoppages for injury saw Warlingham fans and coaches biting their nails for far longer than they wanted to but it was worth the wait to witness a sublime piece of skill once again from Ciaran Lyas. Joining the attack from the full back position and at full tilt he chipped the ball over the Rosslyn Park defence with inch perfect accuracy, used his electric pace to chase the ball down and score an absolute wonder try to seal a thoroughly deserved victory. Every single player gave their all and it was a complete team performance. No player stood out as either being unworthy of their place or better than anyone else and ultimately that was the difference between the two sides. Just an unstoppable bunch of highly talented friends with huge a desire to win and the confidence to do it when it mattered most.
Throughout the season the entire Warlingham squad have work hard and played hard but always with humility and respect for each other, their opposition and their coaches. They are a credit to themselves and the magnificent achievement of winning the Waterfall Cup is just desserts for the effort they have put in not just this year but through the tough times of covid lockdowns and all that has come their way since.
Another mention must go to the insatiable driving force that is head coach Pete Millington. His non-stop enthusiasm to help the kids be the best people they can is evident to anyone and everyone who comes near a Warlingham match or training session and behind the scenes he is every bit as focused and determined to demonstrate how a bit of effort makes a huge difference . He truly puts his heart into everything he does for the boys and leads by example. Every coach, parent and player has a debt of gratitude to him for the two Waterfall cup wins and so much more.
Roll on next season........................