Kingston 22, Metropolitan Police 70

by Sam Johnson. Saturday 28 September 2024

The Metropolitan Police made the short journey down to Kingston on another sunny Saturday afternoon, with the weather perfect for running rugby.

The Met opened the scoring with two quick fire tries. Kingston were then unlucky to lose No.8 Elton Gwetweke to an ankle injury early on, meaning 17 year old Dylan Hall came on to make his league debut. Not to be deterred by the Met’s fast start, Hugo Eyre broke off a wheeling scrum to score a great solo try off the base, making the score 5-14.

Kingston were starting to motor in attack and it was only a great last ditch tackle on Phil Dabinski that stopped him going over. No.9 Jonny McDunphy was on the shoulder but the offload went to floor. The Police capitalised on this error and following some sloppy tackling went over again.

Jonny McDunphy made an excellent break off the restart but unfortunately the attack came to nothing and the Police finished the half with a breakaway try, making the score 5-28 at the half.

Half Time - Kingston 5 v 28 Metropolitan Police

Kingston got the second half up and running, but it was the Police that got their attack clicking first. After some classy play they were held up over the line following a chip and chase.

Kingston hit straight back and Hugo Eyre went over the line after a strong run, knocking tacklers out of his way. The conversion was missed and the score was now 10-28.

With the Met on the attack again, replacement Harry Collins made a phenomenal last ditch tackle to stop a near certain score.

From the ensuing ruck the ball squirted out and Hugo Eyre pounced on it, making a great break down the park. Kingston recycled the ball well and after some deft hands Hugo Eyre went over in the corner for his hat trick to make the score 15-28.

However, this mini resurgence seemed to anger the Police who suddenly slipped into 5th gear, scoring 4 tries in quick succession. They moved the ball effortlessly and had support players everywhere. Poor Kingston defence and some inaccuracy at the ruck did not help, but Kingston were suddenly looking at the wrong end of a 15-63 score line. To make matters worse, Harry Collins and Max McCulloch were forced off with a head knock and dislocated shoulder respectively.

Kingston were determined to get something out of the game, and prop Liam Case was held up over the line after some barrelling runs. The Police, playing with the confidence of a team on 9 tries, then went for a cheeky short 5m drop out. This backfired and Connor Ashwin walked through the unorganised defence. Ross McTear kicked the conversion from in front.

Kingston now had the bonus point, but unfortunately, off the restart the Police turned the ball over again and after more excellent support play went over under the sticks to make the final score 22-70.

This was a highly disappointing result for Kingston, who had been looking to make amends after a sloppy performance away to Old Wimbledonians. That said, the Metropolitan Police played some unbelievable rugby and were well worthy of the 48 point win. In particular their 10 was exceptional, moving his side around the park, kicking conversions from anywhere on the pitch, putting in shots on defence and making turnovers for fun. Kingston do have some positives to build on, the scrum was very strong all game and no-one let their heads drop. To salvage a bonus point from the game may prove crucial later down the line - only time will tell. The fallow week comes at the perfect time for Kingston, as they look to kick start their season away to old friends Old Walcountians on 12 October 2024.

The club wishes speedy recoveries to Elton, Harry and Max, as well as the Metropolitan Police No.9 who was forced off with a nasty bicep injury. Full Time.