Match report archive — 2007/8

Saturday 12th April
Kingston 41, O'Whitgiftians 0 (L)
Although Kingston had already secured the top spot in Surrey 1, it was important that the team finished the season on a high — especially with all the Kingston Old Boys watching after their end of season’s dinner. Thankfully Ks didn’t disappoint and put on a good show for the supporters.
K’s played up the slope first half and soon got their driving maul working. OWs struggled to defend this and the pressure allowed the ball to be passed out to centre James Beck to pick a nice line through the defence. Michael Wash converted giving Kingston an early lead (7–0). It wasn’t long before Kingston were 14–0 up, after Joe Best gathered a loose ball and picked his way through a number of defenders, and delayed the final pass enough to commit the last defender and pop to James Beck who made a late diagonal run to score Kingston’s second. Michael Walsh converted.
OWs appeared not to be as strong as the team Kingston played earlier in the season. Their early possession mostly came from their four man lineout, but after winning a few early lineouts, Graeme Maisey with props Dave Hicky and Russell Penton neutralised it and OWs didn’t seem to have an alternative move or jumper.
A cross field kick from Sean Walsh was gathered by Nathan Brown — after the defender failed to collect, gave Kingston their third try making it 19–0.
Chris Connelly came off the bench to replace Graeme Maisey — who received a cut to his eye. Half-time 19–0.
The second half saw Kingston extend the lead further with tries from Chris Connelly, Jonathon Morris, Damien Cunningham and Bruce Fowles, with Michael Walsh converting one of the tries. (Apologies, I was having my eye glued so am not clear of the details. I’m sure they were all superb tries).
Man of the match was James Beck.
Nigel D’Cruze announced his retirement from 1stXV rugby. The vicious rumours of Graeme Maisey’s retirement are unjust and not true — Charlie. I can see no evidence as to why you would even entertain the thought!
This has been a great season for Kingston Rugby Club, with the club gaining promotion to London South West 4 — the first time in the club’s history.
The team will look to build on this for the challenges of LSW4 next season.
A big thanks to all the players and coaching team, including Phil Clements, Sean Walsh, Paul Hodgson amongst others for all their hard work throughout the season. In addition, Sean Walsh has played a big part in the team’s success this season as a player as well, playing a blinder at fly half.
The celebrations continued late into the night after some tuneful singing in the clubhouse.

O'Walcountians II 0, Kingston II 41(M)
Awaiting match report

Kingston 3rdXV v Chobham V (M)
Awaiting match report

Sunday 6th April
Kingston 1stXV 12, O'Emanuel 9 (Surrey Cup Final) .
In appalling conditions at Imber Court, Kingston were made to work hard for their win. They started brightly, dominating through the forwards with a succession of driving mauls. Camped in OE’s 22, Kingston got the driving maul going from a line-out and forced their way over the line for Russell Penton to score Kingston’s first try. The conversion was missed leaving the scores at 5–0.
Kingston then seemed to go to pieces, giving away a number of penalties and allowing O’Emanuel back into the game to take the lead with two penalties. 5–6. Their confidence grew.
The conditions meant that it was never going to be the most open of games and so the match largely became a battle between the two packs, with neither side having enough possession to make it count. Kingston did start to get some of their back line running and overall probably tried to be the most expansive, however, OE’s backline were up quickly to pressurise the attack and ultimately forced K’s to make mistakes and hand possession back. Kingston’s ill-discipline cost them another three points 5–9 and was looking like it might cost them the shield.
Some changes were made with John Dingle and Joe Best coming on.
Kingston started to slowly get the upper hand as well as valuable territory, playing with a bit more urgency than the first half. Twenty minutes remaining, Kingston finally got the break through, after some pressure through the forward pack provided quick ball for Ian Williams to sprint through to slide in over the line. (10–9). The conversion was this time slotted by Michael Walsh giving Kingston a three point lead (12–9). The remained of the match saw Kingston defending resolutely, with some great tackling in defence. Kingston hung on to take the win and the double — after already winning Surrey 1. Credit goes to O’Emanuel who put up a great fight and pushed Kingston all the way.
Next Saturday Kingston play O’Whitgiftians in their final league game of the season. There should be plenty of support as the Old Boy’s dinner will also be taking place, so please come down and give your support.

Saturday 5th April
Kingston 2ndXV v O'Rutlishians II (F)
Teddington III v Kingston 3rdXV (F)

Saturday 29th March
London Exiles 14, Kingston 5 (L)
On a very wet and windy conditions on Saturday, Kingston put in a below par performance and slipped up against in-form side London Exiles. The weather was never going to allow for an open game of rugby and it was a mistake from Kingston that ultimately proved costly.
Exiles started with the most urgency, with their back row competing fiercely at the breakdowns and generally getting around the park that bit quicker.
The pressure forced a penalty to be conceded which they duly kicked.
Kingston’s forwards started to control possession, mauling their way closer to Exiles try line. The defence eventually broke and Ciaran Galvin slipped off the side of a maul to score and put Kingston into a 3–5 lead.
Kingston's lead remained for no more than five minutes. Exiles chipped a ball over the backs and with an unfortunate bounce, bobbled over the head of K’s full back and allowed the chasing kicker to gather and score. In the blustery conditions, the conversion was missed.
8–5 at halftime wasn’t a bad result for Kingston, who would now have the wind behind them in the second half.
Kingston though, did not take advantage. Although the pack drove the play forwards well with some excellent mauling, their just wasn’t enough open running by the backs or forwards to break the gain line effectively. The back-line were having a torrid time in the conditions and although there were a few half breaks, these very quickly evaporated. It wasn’t a day for spinning the ball out wide and perhaps cutting back in towards the forwards and playing a tighter game may have proved more productive?
Kingston conceded a further two penalties to round off a rotten afternoon for the club.
This Sunday, Kingston face O’Emanuel in the Surrey Shield final at Imber Court KO. 2pm and will be looking for a much better performance.

Kingston II v London Exiles II (M)
Awaiting match report

Purley J Fisher III v Kingston III (F)
Awaiting match report

Saturday 22nd March
Kingston 1stXV
(no game)

Kingston 2ndXV v Stoke Park (F)
Awaiting match report

Kingston III v Battersea Iron.IV (F)
Awaiting match report

Saturday 15th March
O'Freemans 7, Kingston 25 (S.Cup)
Kingston played against Old Freeman's for the second week in a row having drawn them in the semi-final of the Surrey Shield competition. After a narrow victory in the league the previous week, Kingston new they would have to be more affective to win away from home against a strong Freeman's pack.
It was quite clear after the initial exchanges that Kingston were hungrier for this fixture wanted the final more than freeman's and within the first 10 minutes Kingston went over the line when a Charlie Symonds off-load found Lee Deadman who dived over the line for a score. The conversion was missed. This try gave Kingston the momentum and they began to dominate with some very effective backs play, which saw another 3 tries scored in this half with Williams, Morris and Brown all going over. Unfortunately this was not a day for the kickers as Kingston missed all their conversions and 2 penalty attempts. After some pressure towards the end of the half and Kingston being reduced to 14 men, Freeman's managed to nick a score which they duly converted, punishing Kingston for their indiscipline. Half-time score Old Freeman's 7 - Kingston 20.
In the second half Freeman's came out with tactic to try and stifle the Kingston attack and effectively looked to play 9-man rugby, using their strong running forwards. Kingston managed to keep Freeman's out though and when given the opportunity showed some excellent running rugby. Kingston domination was also apparent at the set-piece, this proved when Kingston won the ball against the head in the Freeman's 22 and drove over the Freeman's line to allow John Dingle to score. Once again the conversion was missed.
Freeman's continued to exert pressure but the resolute Kingston defence with stood Freeman's late challenge. Notable performances came from many of the team, with Man of Match going to Charlie Symonds, stepping into the centre position in the absence of James Beck.

Kingston II v Battersea Iron. II (F)
O'Tiffinians v Kingston 3rdXV (F)

Saturday 8th March
Kingston 17, O'Freemans 13 (L)
After a long hard season, a win was needed for Kingston to secure the Surrey 1 championship and take automatic promotion to London South West 4 — the first time in the club’s history. They did it, to the delight of all the loyal supporters, coaches and players alike who have put considerable effort in over the past few years.
The game itself wasn’t the prettiest, in the blustery conditions; it was littered with mistakes from both sides, starting poorly for Kingston after the kick-off was knocked on. The Ks defended their line for the first five minutes before eventually clearing, working their way back up the park.
O’Freemans who always seem to field a strong pack, spoilt a lot of ball and were always pressurising Kingston’s possession and defensive line. For the first thirty minutes, the game was a tight affair with neither side breaking through — a number of half chances went begging. Kingston had the majority of territory, but it was O’Freemans who scored the first points after some pressure through the forwards forced Kingston into conceding a penalty. O’Freemans kicked it to take a 0–3 lead at half-time.
Although down three points, there wasn’t any need for Kingston to panic and the team knew that eventually things would click. Their reward eventually came after centre James Beck ran a great line — one of many during the afternoon and this time someone stayed on his shoulder, the offload to Michael Walsh gave Kingston a 5–3 lead.
Five minutes later, Kingston extended their lead to 10–3, after Damien Cunningham picked up from the base of the scrum to feed the backs and for Tom Evans to score in the corner.
O’Freemans were not beaten and after another unusually poor restart in the blustery conditions allowed OF to pick up the loose ball and score themselves (10–8).
Kingston finally made sure of the result from a superb driving maul, driving from 35 yards out for veteran & Chairman Peter Codd to score in his 1,000-odd game since 1882 to seal the win and take Kingston up to London SW4. Michael Walsh converted (17–8).
O’Freemans did get one late consolation try, but Kingston had done enough and saw the game out (17–13). The celebration started and continued well into the night — a great day for the club after a lot of hard work from all the players and coaching staff. A big thank you goes to all the supporters of the club who have supported the club through the good and bad times. Roll on London South West 4 and next season!
The club still has two remaining league games to play, plus a Surrey Shield semi-final next week.

O'Emanuel II 7, Kingston II 36 (M)
Try scorers for Kingston were: Martin N'Guni (2), Richard Foskett (1), John Dingle (1), Adam Kennedy (1) and Mike Slater (1). Alan Ockenham converted (2) and Ross Turner (1).

Kingston 3rdXV 26, Croydon III 0 (M)

Saturday 1st March
Kingston 20, O'Caterhamians 3 (L)
Kingston RFC is now only one win away from guaranteeing their promotion to London SouthWest 4. Getting back to winning ways, beating O’Caterhamians, whilst second place side O’Alleynians slipped up to in-form side London Exiles, allowing K’s to extend their lead at the top to 6 points.
The first half was a tight affair, with neither side playing with the consistency to break the other’s defence. All too often some initial promising play by Kingston was undone by a simple error of judgement allowing O’Cats to turn over possession.
A strong wind blowing up the field allowed O’Cats to kick for territory during the first half; whilst at the same time the slope didn’t seem to give Kingston the advantage it normally does. A penalty a-piece was all there was to show for a half of promising half-breaks — after erratic basic play and poor decision making in a number of areas. Michael Walsh kicked the penalty. 3–3.
After the interval, Kingston finally started to apply some pressure through the forwards in the right area of the field. The backs broke loose and James Beck burst through to score the first try of the game. Michael Walsh converted to give Kingston a 10–3 lead.
Further pressure lead to Cats conceding a penalty that Michael Walsh duly kicked to extend the lead to 13–3.
Kingston started to play with greater composure, kicking for territory and keeping possession better. Cats kept up the pressure, making Ks work hard in defence and narrowly missed a penalty kick of their own and a few half breaks.
Kingston finally put the game beyond reach from a fantastic counter attack from a failed clearance to touch. Ian Williams broke from the halfway line throwing a huge pass wide to Michael Walsh, who passed out to winger Nathan Brown, who slipped the ball inside to Jonathan Morris to skip through to score. Michael Walsh slotted the conversion to round off a successful afternoon following a shaky start.
Kingston will look to secure promotion at home next Saturday against O’Freemans.

Teddington II v Kingston 2ndXV (M)
Kingston III v Sutton&Epsom VI(M)

Saturday 16th February
O'Alleynian 5, Kingston 5 (L, S.Cup)
Also remained 5–5 after extra time for cup)
Saturday saw Kingston play the most important game of their season against second place side O’Alleynian— and they did just enough to share the points and retain their two point lead at the top of the table.
O’Alleynian had been showing good form all season, but for a couple of slip ups, so Kingston knew it would be another tough weekend following the Croydon game. Adam Kennedy returned to the side as hooker after coming back from injury.
After starting brightly, Kingston knew they would be up against it after a penalty kick from OA’s clearly went over the dead ball line and not into touch. The linesman thought not — to the surprise of both sides and OAs gladly took advantage of the situation. Driving from a lineout, Kingston never recovered and OA’s finally drove over in the corner for five points.
Kingston regrouped and had the majority of both territory and possession during the first half. Only some last ditch defending stopped K’s from scoring.
After the interval, Kingston continued to dominate possession and eventually the pressure opened OA’s defence up for Tom Evans to score in the corner to level the score 5–5. Kingston went over again after a driving maul and following ruck gave Damien Cunningham the opportunity to pick and drive over the line. The referee decided the ball was held up to the annoyance of Cunningham and a five metre scrum was awarded. Further pressure though was thwarted and OA’s cleared.
OAs game was simple kick for territory and then use their lineout to disrupt with their back line-out jumper winning their own ball — possibly easier than the game plan Kingston was playing. It worked well for them before the interval, but it was less effective after the interval with Graeme Maisey and Ciaran Galvin starting to steal ball.
Their back-row however did get to the breakdowns quickly and with their backline rushing up quickly in defence, Kingston’s backline found themselves with little time to build an attack, resulting in a number of turnovers and forcing them to kick away far too much possession. Wingers, Nathan Brown had a number of half chances throughout the game, chipping and trying the odd grubber — but for some last ditch cover defence; he surely would have scored some points.
After 80 minutes, the score remained 5–5, with the two sides sharing the league points. The game however was a joint league and Surrey Cup tie, so a further 20 minutes were played to find a winner. The game remained a tight affair, with neither side breaking the other’s defence. 5–5 was the final Cup result — the winner being the away team. Although Kingston was the away league side, technically they were the home cup side. Maybe the officials at the Surrey League will toss a coin? Or we could have all played Spoof? We await the decision.
This Saturday sees Kingston host O’Amplefordians in their re-arranged league game.

Kingston 2ndXV v O'Radeians (M)
Awaiting match report

Racal Decca v Kingston 3rdXV (M)
Awaiting match report

Saturday 9th February
Kingston 1stXV 16,Croydon 17 (L)
Kingston suffered their first league defeat of the season after starting poorly and letting in two tries with some weak defending — part of their game that had been a strength all season. Finding themselves 3—14 down after Larry Weeks reduced the deficit with a penalty, it wasn’t until the second half that Kingston started to up the pace and play with the determination needed to win such a game. Larry Weeks slotted another penalty before Damien Cunningham scored Kingston’s two tries after some sustained forward pressure, the second coming in the last play of the game. Unfortunately for Kingston, the final conversion was missed, handing Croydon victory.
This Saturday Kingston will look for a much improved performance against their closest rival O’Alleynians.

Esher V v Kingston 2ndXV (M)
Mitcham II v Kingston 3rdXV (F)

Saturday 2nd February
Wisbech 18, Kingston 1stXV 15
(EDF Cup, 7th round)
Kingston’s dream of a place in the EDF Junior Vase final at Twickenham came to end on Saturday, after being narrowly beaten by Wisbech RFC. In a match that was too close to call at 15–15 with fifteen minutes to go. A single penalty kick 10 minutes from time secured the win for the home side.

Kingston met early at the club for a team breakfast supplied by Sandra Turner and Helen Symonds and then set off with the small army of travelling supporters by coach to Wisbech.
On arrival, it was noticeable that the field was both short and narrow, so Kingston anticipated a battle in the forwards, knowing they would need to give their backs a good platform and plenty of space from which to attack from.
A ‘Churchillian’ pre-match speech by skipper Nigel d’Cruze made sure his players were aware of the importance of this game — the team then stepped out onto the Harecroft Road field.
With hundreds of supporters watching from the side lines, the atmosphere was tense — the game was set. And from the kick off, Kingston knew they were in a game.
The build up for this game was big news in Wisbech, with a report in the local paper — CLICK HERE

The Wisbech’s forwards initially forced Kingston on the back foot with the more aggressive rucking. Kingston gathered their composure and started to front up creating a fierce battle between the two packs for the remainder of the game.
A turn over by Wisbech after five minutes cost Kingston dear. Wisbech spun the ball wide and breached the K’s defence to score in the corner to take an early 5–0 lead. Kingston started to find some patterns to their play and when the ball was spun wide, winger Nathan Brown had just enough pace and space to run round the winger to score in the corner. Larry Weeks converted to put Kingston in the lead 5–7.
However, K’s hard work was undone, yet again by a turnover, allow Wisbech to break early and breach K’s stretched defence to score their second try. A conversion gave them a 12–7 lead. Some sustained pressure from Kingston forced a penalty and Larry Weeks duly kicked it to take Kingston in at the interval 12–10 down.

The second half was as tight as the first, with neither side being able to break their opponents’ defensive line. Wisbech kicked a penalty to take a 15–10 lead and put real pressure on the Kingston side. Ciaran Galvin and Lee Deadman came off the bench in the hope that some fresh legs would give K’s the edge in the pack. Kingston did start to build some momentum with some strong driving mauls. When they secured a lineout on the 22-metre line, there was only one option. Galvin took the ball in the lineout and Kingston drove strongly forwards. Ten metres out, Peter Codd rolled back the years and slid off the back of the maul down the blind side to score a try to level the match.
Injuries were mounting up for the Kingston side; after Ian Williams dislocated his shoulder in a tackle, popping it back in to finish the game and Damien Cunningham leaving the field with a dead leg.
Michael Walsh returning after a long-term injury came on 20 minutes to go and very nearly slipped a winning pass, but a finger tip interception stopped it finding its intended target. With only 10 minutes to go, Kingston gave away a penalty. Wisbech slotted it to take the lead 18–15. Kingston tried everything for the final 10 minutes, but just could not find a way through. The dream was over and for many; the chance to play at Twickenham will never arrive.

Kingston would like to thank Wisbech for their post match hospitality after the game and wish them all the best for the rest of the season.
Kingston would also like to thank all the loyal supporters who took the trip up to the game to cheer the boys on. We are sorry we couldn’t give you the win, but hope to return to winning ways this weekend in the next league match against Croydon.

Kingston III 0, London Fire Brigade 7 (F)

Saturday 26th January
Cranleigh 10, Kingston 1stXV 17(L, C) (This game was a doubleheader — league and Surrey Cup)
Kingston struggled to play with the composure and precision that has been their trademark in recent games. A tough Cranleigh pack made life difficult for Kingston in the first twenty minutes, pressurising them at every breakdown. Kingston found many of the key decisions going against them throughout the game — much to their surprise.
Cranleigh’s lineout was effective throughout the game and although Kingston did eventually stop them getting clean ball, they didn’t dominate it as they would have liked.
When Kingston did generate some quick ball for their back line, they broke the Cranleigh defence down with relative ease, and Ian Williams scored Kingston’s two first-half tries picking some fine lines to cut through the defence. Larry Weeks converted both tries to give K’s a 14 point lead. Instead of extending their lead further, Kingston struggled to supply their back line with quick ball throughout the game and it wasn’t long before Kingston was defending their own line.
A drive from a Cranleigh lineout on the 5-metre line reduced the lead to 5–14 at the interval.
In the second half, Kingston played with a bit more composure and gained a penalty from some persistent pressure to extend their lead to 5–17,kicked by Larry Weeks. The game was very niggly, with a number of confrontations between the two packs throughout the game. K’s pack constantly seemed to want to take the ball one phase too many and were turned over by the more aggressive Cranleigh pack all too frequently.
Cranleigh reduced the lead to 10–17 when from a ruck, they spun the ball wide where there was a three man overlap — after Kingston’s normally tight defence seemed to desert them.
The Kingston side is made of tough stuff and they knew they just had to play their patterns of play to control the game. They started to dominate the scrum, with a couple of excellent drives on their 5-metre line and eventually moved their way up the park. The remaining 10 minutes were played in the Cranleigh half and Kingston’s pack wound down the clock to take victory and the two points from a side that unbelievably seem to be sitting at the foot of Surrey 1.
A much improved performance is required this weekend when Kingston travel to Wisbech for their seventh round tie in the EDF Junior Vase.

Kingston 2ndXV 29, Law Society II 18 (M)
Kingston played host to a determined Law Society on Saturday. K's slow to start, found themselves three points down in the opening minutes after a good spell of driving play by L.S.
K's struggled to comprehend most of the referee's decisions and lost too much time and focus on them. Once they settled down K's produced some good rugby and scored through Danny Hutton. L.S came straight back and got a try of their own to keep them in front. A try by Mike Slater edged Ks into slim lead at half time.
Second half saw the lead see-saw between both teams. A fine debutante try Bruce Fowles and further tries by Jim McCormack and Shaun McKay saw Ks edge the game towards the final whistle.

Warlingham IV v Kingston 3rdXV (M)

Saturday 19th January
Kingston 1stXV v O'Amplefordians (L)
O'Wellington. II v Kingston 2ndXV (M)
Kingston 3rdXV v O'Rutlishians III (M)
(All games were postponed due to the weather)

Saturday 12th January
Saracens Amateurs 0, Kingston 43 (EDF Junior Vase, 6th round)

Kingston stuns Saracens Amateurs to reach the last sixteen of the EDF Junior Vase...
It was round 6 of the EDF Junior Vase and we set off early in the fun bus for our game against Saracens Amateurs. With a supporter’s minibus following, the boys were determined to put on a good show for their loyal fans… and I am glad to say we didn’t disappoint!
Kingston knew little about their opponents before the game started, but after five minutes, they knew they were in a game after some ferocious rucking from the Saracens’ forward pack, drove Kingston back towards their own try line. It was only K’s aggressive last ditch defence that thwarted the attack. Kingston steadily regained their composure and started to make inroads up field. The Saracens’ pack defended extremely aggressively around the rucks, knocking back any half-hearted pick and drives. It forced Kingston to play quite a tight game in the forwards, making sure the ball was protected at all costs.
Initially the two back lines seemed fairly evenly matched, but it wasn’t long before the Kingston’s backs started to pressurise Saracens’ back line into making mistakes. Possession was turned over and the ball was spun wide with a pass for Nathan Brown to score his first try of the afternoon.
Thirty minutes in, Saracens missed a penalty kick followed by a sin-binning of their second row for stamping gave Kingston the edge they needed. With one less jumper in the line-out — due to Saracens being reluctant to move by far their tallest player forwards, Kingston was able to pressurise Saracens’ jumper as well as gain a free jumping position on their line-out. Now in the dominance, Kingston scored a further two tries by James Beck and Nathan Brown. Jonathon Morris converted them both to give Kingston a 0–19 lead at half-time.
The second half started for Kingston where the first left off, with further tries by James Beck and Nathan Brown — securing his hatrick and Ian Williams. Saracens cause not helped with another sin bin in the second half.
Kingston was dominating in all areas now. The scrum was performing well with front row of Dave Hicky, Peter Codd and Russell Penton getting the upper hand on their opponents, the lineout even better and the driving maul was becoming more effective as the game went on. The Kingston players though were still made to work extremely hard both in attack and more importantly in defence and the effort put in to close down the gaps and overlaps was immense.
Damien Cunningham scored the final try of the afternoon, after some tight play down the right flank allowed Cunningham to pick up after an initial drive from Nigel D’Cruze to score in the corner. Jonathon Morris kicked two further conversions in the second half to add to the points.
Man of the match for Kingston was that man Graeme Maisey (well I had to get a mention!). Having said that, every player in the forward pack played well, executing everything that we have been working hard at all season in training. The backs also deserve a mention, with exceptional finishing from Nathan Brown, brilliant runs all afternoon by James Beck, Jonathon Morris, and Ian Williams, Charlie Symonds and Joe Best. The distribution by Sean Walsh as usual was spot on.
The players would like to say a big thank you to all our loyal supporters who travelled to the game with us. Your support was as vocal and encouraging as usual. Thanks.
The 7th round beckons, with Kingston now only three wins away from a final at Twickenham, this is exciting times to be a player at Kingston.
Read Saracens' take on the game at the following link: clickhere

This Saturday, we host O’Amplefordians in the league, so a big effort at training this week is required if we are to keep the performance at this level.

Kingston II 0, Pelhamians 40 (F)

Stoke Park II v Kingston 3rdXV (F)
(game postponed)

Kingston Occasionals 35, Bank of England 3/VETS 8

Saturday 5th January
Battersea Iron. 5, Kingston 10 (L)
It was important Kingston started 2008 in the same way as 2007 finished and they did so… just, keeping their unbeaten run alive.
Whether it was the excesses of Christmas, or the constant spoiling from Ironsides that stopped Kingston from playing their game? Who knows? But they never really got into the strides to play the kind of rugby that has been evident at the club this season.
An initial surge from Ironsides from the kick-off forced Kingston to defend their try line, repelling a number of attacks until they finally turned possession over.
Kingston then started to play the better rugby, dominating the scrums and forcing Ironsides’s pack backwards in the mauls. Only some last ditch defending from Ironsides stopped Kingston from scoring on a number of occasions.
The game like the previous cup game was a messy affair and certainly wasn’t one for the purists. Kingston did finally take the lead when Jonathon Morris forced his way over to put Kingston in a 0–5 lead.
After the interval, Kingston seemed to fall asleep and conceded a score from a 22-metre drop out. The majority of the forward pack failed to get into position quickly enough, as well as the key decision to kick the ball early. Kingston took the 22-metre drop out, before the majority of the Kingston’s pack was in position. With only a couple of forwards on the left side of the park, Ironsides caught the kick and ran straight back down their right flank to score through a rather thin defence. It was a weak try to let in and one that could easily have spoiled the afternoon. The conversion was fortunately missed leaving the game tied at 5–5.
Nigel D’Cruze came on as replacement to add a bit more bite to the back row and eventually Kingston started to get some quick ball out wide to play with. Kingston attacked though their backs and Charlie Symonds offload to Joe Best who was in support to score in the corner. Kingston played out the remaining 20 minutes to secure a valuable win and another two points. James Beck had a good game in the centre, making the best out of limited opportunities and space.
Kingston will look for a marked improvement when they travel to Saracen Amateurs in the next round of the EDF Junior Vase competition on Saturday.

Kingston II v London Media II (M)
Home win (WO)

Kings.II 31, Streatham & Croy.III 0 (M)

Saturday 22nd December
Kingston 2/3XV 41, Chipstead 0 (F)

Saturday 15th December
Kingston 1stXV v London Exiles (L)
Home win (WO) Friendly was played and Kingston won 62–0
Kingston secured the final 2pts in their chase for promotion after they were awarded the win automatically after London Exiles arrived without a full front row.
Having found a couple of Kingston props to ensure some sort of game took place, Kingston kicked up the slope. Total domination was a summary of the match, with Kingston scoring their first try within five minutes when Lee Deadman burst through a gap from a Kingston lineout to sprint half the length of the pitch to score — a fine run for the big man. Further tries from Kingston meant they turned around at the interval with a considerable lead. The second half was similar to the first and after one of the loan props left the field injured, uncompetitive scrums meant any bite in the game was lost and Kingston just ran through their plays.
Among the other try scorers I can remember were Nathan Brown (2), Ian Williams (2), Ross Turner (2), Charlie Symonds, Joe Morris & James Beck.
Kingston’s sights are now set on their first league game of 2008 against Battersea Ironsides.

London Exiles II v Kingston II (M)
(Away win, WO)

Kingston III 12, Law Society II 17(F)

Saturday 8th December
Battersea Iron 0, Kingston 13 (EDF Junior Vase, 5th round)
The atrocious weather over the weekend forced the game to be switched to Kingston — due to Battersea’s pitch being waterlogged. A repeat of the encounter two weeks earlier was set, with the winner going through to the 6th round of the EDF Junior Vase.
In the boggy conditions, the game was always going to be a tight affair. The handling was difficult, so both sides played the game through their corresponding packs.
In the first half, Kingston failed to play with the urgency that was required to force their opponents into making errors and gaining valuable territory. Battersea competed with more urgency and with the aid of the slope, had the better of the half. However, a couple of penalties were missed by Battersea in the blustery conditions, with Kingston also missing their own chance — a low hard punt sending the Battersea players diving for cover. Kingston’s line-out did perform reasonably well in attack and better in defence with both Maisey and Connelly sharing the jumping duties. For the rest of the play, Kingston spent the remainder of the half addressing a number of problem areas in their forward play and tactical kicking until at last they started to play some of the patterns of rugby that the team had run through numerous times at training.
The half finished scoreless, with the one positive point being that Ks had kept a clean sheet whilst attacking up the slope into the wind.
The second half was much more positive for Kingston. Their driving maul started to be effective, with the forward pack driving the play forward from a number of rucks, giving their backs some chance of some quick ball. The Kingston backs had a number of strong runs, with Charlie Symonds getting narrowly beaten to a try after the ball was slotted through over the Battersea’s try-line. The sustained pressure however, did force Battersea to concede a number of penalties, allowing Joe Best to slot the ball twice over the posts. With a 6–0 lead, Battersea had to work hard to move up the slope and the biggest gain of territory either side made tended to come from the other team’s mistakes.
Kingston finally put the game beyond reach after Ian Williams chased a kick forward and pressurised the Battersea player into spilling the ball. Gary Sherriff was following up and scooped the ball up to run in from just inside Battersea’s half to score under the posts. Joe Best converted to complete the scoring for the afternoon.
Kingston were pleased they moved into the 6th round of the EDF Junior Vase, but know they cannot become complacent if they are to continue their unbeaten run in the league and gain promotion this season. Let’s all make training this week for the last league game of the year next Saturday.

O'Reigations II v Kingston 2ndXV (F)
Awaiting match report

Kingston 3rdXV v O'Tiffinians (F)
Awaiting match report

Saturday 1st December
O'Whitgiftians 0, Kingston 1stXV 16 (L)
With only two leagues to go in 2007 — the half way point in the season, Kingston needed to draw on all their reserves to ensure they did not slip up against the Croydon side that were still in contention with the leaders.
The 12 o’clock meet didn’t go quite to plan, with two key players phoning in sick with dodgy stomachs and another unable to get away from work. The reserves were called up at the last minute, arriving minutes before the kick off. They all performed admirably, slotting in with ease to ensure the two points were won.
Kingston played up the slope in the first half and after only five minutes of play, the team was disrupted further with John Dingle twisting his ankle in an off the ball incident. Up stepped David Hickey to prop. After some initial encounters between the two packs, Kingston started to get the ball wide; making some inroads into O’Whitgiftian’s half. This early pressure soon secured a penalty, which Jonathon Morris slotted for three points.
A short time later, the ball was spun from left to right and a driving maul was set up. O’Whitgiftians stopped the drive, but scrum half Joe Best dummied the pass left and sniped up the side of the maul into space, side stepped the encroaching defender and sprinted over the line for a fine try under the posts. Jonathon Morris converted to take Kingston into a 10–0 lead.
Throughout the remainder of the match, Kingston found it difficult to play their patterns of rugby, partly due to O’Whitgiftians stopping them play and party due to Kingston just not getting out of third gear. Two further penalties from Jonathon Morris gave Kingston a 16–0 lead; however the later part of the second half saw Kingston pinned back in their own 22-metres. The Kingston’s defence however is strong and if the commitment was lacking in the offence, it was their in defence, with some fine try saving tackles.
Kingston came off the field pleased with the two points earned, but with the knowledge that better performances will be needed to keep up their winning ways.
O’Alleynians slipped up against O’Amplefordians, meaning Kingston is now four points clear of second place and seven points clear of the third place team.
This Saturday, Kingston face Battersea Ironsides in the 5th round of the EDF Junior Vase — only two weeks after beating them in a tough match in the league. Another battle is expected and Kingston will need to draw on everything to go through to the next round.

Kingston II v O'Walcountians II(M)
Awaiting match report

Chobham V v Kingston 3rdXV (M)
Awaiting match report

Saturday 24th November
Kingston 25, Battersea Ironsides 0 (L)
Kingston made it seven league wins out of seven with a hard fought win against Ironsides — a team who always like to make life difficult for their opposition.
Kingston played up the slope in the first half and after some initial encounters between the two packs, Kingston gained the initial territorial advantage, forcing Ironsides back into their 22-metres and making them concede the first penalty. Jonathon Morris duly slotted the ball between the posts to give the home side an early lead.
Kingston started to play their patterns of rugby, winning some good ball for the back line to play off. A great line taken by James Beck cut Ironsides defence in half as he raced through to score a great individual try. Morris converted to take Kingston into a 10–0 lead.
The backs also produced the next try. The ball was spun wide to Nathan Brown, who chipped the ball over the approaching defence. Both he and John Dingle gave chase and although Nathan was initially blocked by an Ironsides’ back, he kept up the chase. John Dingle almost scored himself, but did enough to force the error from the Ironsides’ player into spilling the ball, allowing Nathan Brown to touch the ball down and put Kingston into a 15–0 lead.
Kingston’s lead was extended to 22–0 following the move of the game. Kingston won a scrum against the head in their own half and some great interplay between Brown and Beck, allowed Brown to score in the corner for his second. Jonathon Morris converted.
Mixed between the scores, was a ferocious forwards battle, in which a determined Ironsides’ pack was beaten back time and again to keep the score sheet clean.

Halftime came and went and now playing down the slope, Kingston looked to extend their lead further. It did really go to plan. Kingston got caught up in a forward battle, which meant little ball for the back line. This was clearly Ironsides’ strength, but Kingston’s pack is made of stern stuff these days and they repelled attack after attack. Kingston had their own phases of play in Ironsides half, forcing a number of penalties — Jonathon Morris slotting one to make it 25–0 and cap the victory.
Although the second half wasn’t the prettiest of games from a spectators view point, the Kingston pack should be proud of their dogged determination and fierce rucking ensure the fine work done by the back line in the first half was not undone and the win stayed secure.
Kingston face Battersea Ironsides in two weeks time (8th December) for the 5th round of the EDF Junior Vase and then again in the league on 5th January in the league.

London Media II 7, Kingston II 55 (M)
Ks travelled to Battersea Park for this merit table game. Ks got off to a fine start with Mike Casey scoring after 2 minutes. Media rallied and put Kingston under pressure for the next ten minutes but gave away a kickable penalty that Joe Best gratefully took. Shortly afterwards, Mike Slater crashed over for the first of two tries.
The second half saw Ks keeping the scoreboard ticking over regularly with tries from Joe Best. Tony Iravani, Ian Williams and Adam Kennedy.

Kingston III 49, Streatham & Croydon III 0 (M)
Tony Davey & Alan Ockenden shared the kicking duties.
Try scorers unknown. If anyone remembers, let me know – Graeme Maisey

Saturday 17th November
Kingston 19, Belsize Park 0 (EDF Junior Vase, 4th round)
Kingston eased through to the fifth round of the EDF Junior Vase with a 19–0 victory over Belsize Park. It was a tough game for the unbeaten Surrey side who were made to work hard for their victory. The two packs were evenly matched in the scrums, but Ks had the edge in the open — although they didn’t get the ball out to their backs as quickly as they would like. They did however start to dominate in both the lineouts and the driving mauls, resulting in a number of penalties that Ks just could not convert. After some intense pressure through the forwards, Belsize finally cracked, allowing Joe Best to cut through to score in the corner.
Half time came and now Kingston knew that playing down the slope, they needed to get an end result for their dominance. Kingston started to put their patterns of play together in the forwards and with some tactical kicking from the backs, camped out in Belsize’s half. From a line out and driving maul, the ball was spun wide for the backs to do their worse. James Beck picked a fine line, cutting through the defence to lay the ball off for skipper Charlie Symonds to touch the ball down. Jonathon Morris kicked the conversion to take Kingston into a 12–0 lead.
The game was over, but Kingston managed one more score, chipping the ball over the defensive line for Aaron Beesley to catch the ball over the try line to score Kingston’s final try. Jonathon Morris converted to round off a gritty cup victory.
Four more wins and Kingston will find themselves in the final at Twickenham. The dream continues…

Woking 8, Kingston 2ndXV 38 (F)
Ks travelled down to Byfleet on Saturday to play Woking in a friendly. Slippery conditions and a ball with no grip certainly didn't help for flowing rugby with both sides making many unforced handling errors. Joe Holden playing his first game for many months had an excellent game in the forwards and as a result bagged a brace of tries. Tries from Steve Bruce and Joe Holden saw Ks turn around at half time with a 12-0 lead and seemed reasonably comfortable. Another try from Holden just after the break spurred Woking on and they replied with a try of their own straight away. Strong running from Ian Williams earned him a try Ks had the game firmly in their control now and fly half Tony Iravani made a good break from the 22m line to score a fine individual try. Richard Foskett rounded off the scoring by running from the half-way line and dotting down under the posts.

Kingston 3rdXV v Teddington III (F)
(Game called off)

Saturday 10th November
O'Amplefordians 10, Kingston 33 (L)
Kingston’s unbeaten run continues after an impressive win against O’Amplefordians, keeping them top of the table, two points clear of O’Alleynians, whom they have already beaten.
Kingston fielded a largely unchanged side, maintaining the consistency in their play that has been a key feature of their game this season. Ks opened the scoring — Ross Green bursting down the wing and managed a ‘sleight of hand’ off load from the tackle to Gary Sherriff to score in the corner. Five soon became ten, when James Beck crashed through the entire back line to score under the posts. Jonathon Morris converted to put Kingston 0-12 up. The back line in general made some great runs, with Sean Walsh orchestrating the moves as well as making a number of fine breaks himself.
Ten minutes to go before the interval, with Kingston driving a maul towards OA’s five-metre line, an OA’s player tried to stop the drive illegally, coming in from the side. The match ignited with the alleged player red carded for punching and Kingston’s own Richard Marsden King yellow carded.
Kingston managed to slot a penalty before the interval to turn around 0-15.
After the break, Joe Best came on from the bench for Ross Turner and immediately made his mark. A great break by the backs, allowed the ball to be spun wide finding Best on hand on the overlap to score in the corner.
Kingston made a double substitution bringing on Mindy and Maisey for some impact and fresh legs. After an initial scare, Kingston worked their way up the field through their pack. Maisey picked up & drove from a ruck five metres out, but was unable to ground the ball following the initial drive — being held up.. The ball however, was set back allowing that Lithuanian powerhouse to get his third try in two weeks — no one was going to stop Mindy from one metre!
Before the end, Gary Sherriff scored his second and Kingston disappointedly allowed OAs to score two of their own.
Man of the match was James Beck.
This was another sound performance by the Kingston side. Next week, Kingston plays at home in the EDF Junior Vase competition against Belsize Park.

Kingston 2ndXV v O'Wellington. II (M)
(OW called the game off)

O'Rutlishians III 12, Kingston III 13 (M)
Kingston III edged to victory by one point to beat Old Ruts in a close game. Kingston opened the scoring with a try from Greg Batchelor. Old Ruts then hit back with two tries and a conversion of their own to lead 5-12. Andy Dack narrowed the deficit with a penalty kick that somehow bobbled off the upright and cross bar to fall over — He is no Jonny Wilkinson!
Simon Ridpath secured the win with a try to secure the win by a single point.

Saturday 3rd November
Kingston 1stXV 35, Cranleigh 12 (L)
Kingston continued their rich vein of form, comprehensively beating Cranleigh, who as always, put up a strong fight. This latest win means that Kingston has won five out of five and sit top of Surrey 1.Even with a number of players out injured, the strength in depth within the squad has enabled the momentum to continue and will be vital as the season progresses.
After an initial flutter, Kingston soon got in to their strides, making the hard yards through the forwards, providing the backs with quick ball from which to attack. Having the majority percentage of territory and possession, the Ks constantly pressurised Cranleigh’s tryline. Eventually, Ks broke the defence allowing Tim Hook to burst through to score. Ten minutes la