Saturday 7 th September saw the beginning of the league season for both the 1 st and 2 nd XVs.
After a good pre-season campaign with some promising rugby on show, OCs were keen to
blow away the cobwebs of the off season. 1 st XV debuts were given to Tom Walker, David
Edwards and Freddie Holland-Oliver.
The 1 st XV remains in London & SE Regional 2 for 2024/25 and made the journey to Sutton &
Epsom RFC to begin the league campaign. A warm day with strong home support made for
challenging conditions, and OCs struggled to keep possession and mitigate the opposition’s
wide attacking threats. Despite some courageous defending and several trips into the
opposition’s 22, the 1 st XV found themselves 26-0 down at half time.
With a strong message to retain possession, OCs began the second half with better
showings in both attack and defence with some heavy carrying from the forwards and
strong tactical play from fly-half Ryan Napper. However, with injuries and poor discipline,
Sutton & Epsom were allowed to consolidate their lead. Despite a bulldozing try from
captain Andy O’Malley following some great attacking shape, OCs never got back into the
game were on the end of a 50-7 defeat. Lots to work on before another trip on the road to
Old Reigatian this week. As ever, a big thank you to those who made the trip to support the
1 st XV.
MOTM: Ryan Napper
Matt Walker
