Kingston 17, London Exiles 17 (L)

10 October 2026 -

Kingston went into this game full of confidence and in fine attacking form, having scored 90 points in their first two games.

However, it was Exiles who got out of the blocks early, with some strong carrying that put Kingston under pressure straight away. After a mix-up on our line-out inside our 22, Exiles pounced for the first try of the day, importantly with no conversion.

Kingston started to grow into the game and won an attacking scrum. After a solid scrum and nice backs play, the ball made its way to Will Young in space, which obviously got the crowd on their feet, and after some brute power and an offload, Kingston had quick ruck ball. Cam Fisher passed a seed to Ben Smith, who smashed over under the sticks. Cam Fisher: always the bridesmaid, never the bride, picking up another assist this season.

The crowd hoped this would spark the game into life, but it was clear this was going to be one for the purists. After some more tense play from both sides, it was another Kingston error. From a defensive 5-metre scrum, the ball popped out to Rhys Luke, who made sure he wouldn’t have to chop a pint and get PoM this week by dropping it. After a scramble for the ball, it was Exiles who came up with it and the try. An easy conversion made it 7-12.

Conceding again sparked Kingston into life. Sam Johnson showed Tommy Rush how props should act in the loose, catching the ball sitting down their winger before offloading to Ross, who instantly turned into prime Jason Robinson. With some razzle-dazzle footwork he beat the covering defenders, then threw an offload Sonny Bill Williams would be proud of to Connor Ashwin, who went over in the corner. Rhys Luke added the extras to make it 14-12.

Into the second half we went, surely this game would burst into life now. Early on, Exiles won an attacking scrum and played a nice set play down the short side. A couple of phases later they rewound and scored again in the corner. No conversion made it 14-17.

With 30 minutes to go, the game was once again dominated by defence from both sides. The front rows got to know each other well, with the number of scrums in the second half. The Kingston scrum finally looked to be taking its toll, winning 3 penalties 5 metres out. However, Exiles brought their lottery ticket, and while being marched back, the ref gave a penalty against Kingston tight head Sammy J. As all good props and lawyers do, he pleaded the 5th and said it wasn’t his fault.

The next real chance came to Exiles. After a lot of phases they believed they were over for a score, but the only person who matters is the ref, and he said it was held up. Kingston breathed a sigh of relief.

The game really was dominated by defence. Exiles’ Aussie Lino kept asking the ref how long was left as he was craving a beer, clearly a guy who prefers a bit more Joue than what was being offered on the pitch.

Finally, with 3 minutes left to play, Kingston worked through the phases and won an attacking scrum as the final play, after which a set play led to a high tackle. The Kingston Braintrust got together to decide what to do with the final play of the game! Tommy Rush ran over: “Let’s tap and go, lads.” “It’s on.” “Boshhhh!” Tommy was quickly turned away by Ben Smith. Cam and Ben did the maths, Ben counting on his fingers, and realised that with the final play, 14+3 does draw us the game.

So over to you, Rhys Luke, in front of the posts 30 metres out. Rhys Luke kicks these in his sleep, but he also knew his teammates and the amount of chatttt he’d get if he missed.

Up he stepped, and it was never in doubt. He slotted it straight through the middle and the game finished 17-17.

Kingston stay undefeated, scrapping away with a draw, and the Exiles left probably thinking they had dropped points there with the way they played. Very much looking forward to the return fixture later in the season.

Shout out to Connor Ashwin again, who got a special mention from the opposition: “Your bald fella was good.” However, player of the match went to Ross McWilliams. Also a final shout out to Calum for his 1XV debut.