RUGBY
REGIONAL 1 SOUTH CENTRAL
Saturday 14th September 2024
Old Alleynians 18-0 Horsham
Report by Richard Ordidge

A flat performance from Horsham saw them go down 18-0 to newly promoted Old Alleynians in Dulwich.

The Green and Whites had a long period of pressure in the second half, eschewing the opportunity to take the kickable points on offer, by going for tries but their line-out was not functioning.

The scoreline however could have been worse for Horsham with their opponents missing all of their conversions and spurning several try scoring opportunities through handling mistakes.

Early signs are that this is going to be an extremely competitive league as two of the promotion favourites, Camberley and Tunbridge Wells, have lost both of their opening games.

Horsham head coach Nick Stocker reflected after the game: “A disappointing performance overall underpinned by a total malfunction of the lineout and an inability to convert any pressure we did create into points. For some reason we lacked our usual energy this afternoon which with a loss of discipline in the second quarter seeing two yellow cards, we fell behind and could not get back, particularly in the second half when playing with both the slope and the breeze. The team will reflect and potentially view the three kickable penalties in a different light as a way to claw our way back into the game.

Credit to OAs who were a skilled team playing with energy and no shortage of ability. They will undoubtedly cause teams problems in this league with some very talented players in the ranks. We look forward to the opportunity to welcome them at home later in the season”.

Horsham welcome Tunbridge Wells to Coolhurst on Saturday.