There was little sign of what was to come until after 11 minutes a strong defensive set eventually saw the ball cleared and Tom Whittaker scoring which was well converted by Joe Blake.

On 19 minutes a try from first phase was scored by Whittaker which was converted by Blake. Connor Barnes then scored from a great first phase attack off a scrum and the four try bonus point was secured after 29 minutes following a turned over scrum and break by Aaron Linfield which was finished by Tom Sanders and converted by Blake to make it 26-0.

Sanders returned the favour with some great work on the wing to set Linfield up to score which was converted by Blake. There was still time for Old Reigatians to score on the stroke of half time with the score at the break 33-7.

Horsham were relentless with their try scoring in the second half. Tom Johnson scored straight from a scrum, Sanders scored from a great kick return, Blake scored from a short side attack, Whittaker scored from first phase.

Old Reigatians scored a consolation try on 60 minutes to reduce the deficit to 61-12 before Horsham’s try scoring continued through Whittaker securing his fifth straight from kick off following a favourable bounce, Eddie Grogan opened his account, and then Luke Standing ran in from halfway following turnover ball in a great finish from a front row forward. Joe Blake kicked nine conversions.

Horsham’s Head of Rugby, Nick Stocker, said after the game: “As our injury list improves so too has the team cohesion built, and this was clear by the way we maintained our structure all game. The forwards were hard working throughout granting excellent ball for our backs who scored 11 of our 12 tries with the final one well finished from halfway by prop Luke Standing showing a deceptive turn of pace.

The performance was built on the character displayed in the first 10 minutes when Old Reigatians were dominant and the defensive efforts were monumental. Having withstood that assault, our backs began to run riot with Aaron Linfield and Joe Blake pulling the strings in tandem. What followed was a performance of strong clinical running, seeing several high-quality tries. Old Reigatians for their part are suffering an injury crisis and will no doubt see an upturn in their fortunes as the season wears on. When they click, they are a dangerous side and will cause teams problems.

Our man of the match was Joe Blake, with a personal tally of 23 points, he was excellent, energised and positive throughout. Next week we renew our rivalry with Old Colfeians who will prove a very stern test and with timely injury returns due, we look forward to trying to build on today’s performance.”