This may have been a vets cup match on Saturday at Rugby Lane, Cheam, but both teams of old timers put on performances that made it a thoroughly entertaining and quality game of rugby.

Sutton & Epsom’s vets side the Dodos have been the holders of the Evergreen Cup for five of the last six years and in that time have only lost once and that to Purley John Fisher.

The two sides should have met in the final last season but PJF were away on tour and so Sutton won the final by default.

The Evergreen cup is a competition between vets teams from clubs in Surrey, Kent and Sussex with all players being over the age of 35 years.

Sutton were very apprehensive about this match and in the first half with the wind at their backs the much larger and very lively Purley pack caused Sutton all sorts of problems, not helped by the loss of prop Jeff Greenleaf to the sin bin for 10 minutes, vets games are always notable for a certain amount of extra curricular activity.

Sutton started the better of the two sides and their slick handling saw them camp in the Purley half for the opening 15 minutes but without a score.

It was only when Purley broke out that Sutton managed to rob their ball on halfway that a sharp break by wing Darren Lafferty was taken on by centre Mark Laddell and when he was stopped 15 metres from the line flanker Paddy McConnell was there to thunder over behind the posts.

Fly half Sam Frost converted. Purley’s pro plus then kicked in and following a series of penalties they scored to the right of the posts.

The conversion was Kicked to level the score. They scored a 2nd just before half time from a quickly taken penalty but the conversion went wide and at half time Purley led 7-12.

Sutton levelled the score seconds into the restart when a break by Frost was taken on by centre Jake Webber who put full back Jeremy Dix in for an unconverted try.

Sutton’s next try was spectacular, No8 George Devonport picked up at the base of a scrum on the Purley 22 and like a raging bull rampaged over wide on the right. The conversion was missed. They scored again almost immediately when lock Brian Millward went on the charge was stopped short but got the ball away to Dix who put chunky winger Paul Smythe over in the corner. Dix converted and shortly afterwards kicked a penalty for Sutton to lead 27-12.

Sutton’s next try was another Devenport rampage from a ruck 22 metres out but went unconverted.

Then Sutton scored the best of the match, breaking out of defence deep in their own half the ball went through the hands of most of the team before replacement lock Dean Holder smashed his way over. Replacement fly half Kerith Rees converted. With Purley still shell shocked, Sutton broke out yet again right at the end of the match, Webber committed the defence and gave a perfectly time pass to centre Ladell who scored an unconverted try in the corner.

Sutton’s vets now move on to the next round.

On Friday evening Sutton’s 1stXV, who have not played for nearly 5 weeks played a friendly against Old Priorians at Rugby Lane Cheam winning 26-7 in a fixture organised to blow out the cobwebs. This Saturday Sutton are back to league rugby with an away game at Old Albanians kick off 2.30pm.