The Met has reached the halfway stage of the Surrey Two League season, sitting comfortably in sixth place in the 12 club table. With a new coaching team and new co-captains, the 1st XV can be satisfied with the overall performance although the results have fluctuated and Imber Court is still to be re-established as the fortress it has been in seasons past.

The Met lost to the top four sides in the table including by just one score to the leaders, Old Hamptonians. The opening league fixture of the season resulted in a defeat to Chipstead that gave the fourth placed club one of only four bonus points so far accrued. Chipstead have proved the masters of eeking out a victory, winning nine of their fixtures while showing a 12 point deficit in the "for and against" column. Two massive defeats, 12-76 to Old Blues and 12-38 v Bec Old Boys, illustrate how close to the wind Chipstead sail.

In October, a thumping victory against Old Walcountians, who now lie fifth with three points more than the Met, revealed just how good a full-strength and fully committed Police squad can be. It was an outstanding performance, with four tries from Jardine and a 100% return from the kicking tee for Druce. The pair notched up 38 points between them.

Regrettably, rather than heralding the Met's arrival as promotion contenders, it was followed by three defeats on the bounce.

The Met picked up a losing bonus point in what was an unexpected loss at Imber Court against Old Blues. The Met gave away four kickable penalties and failed to take advantage when the opposition were reduced to thirteen players. Old Blues have a similar record to the Met, but the Old Blues defence is considerably more porous. It was four points missed and could well be seen as the point at which promotion aspirations evaporated.

Disappointingly, the Met handed a walkover to Old Amplefordians on the last weekend of November, which rather spoilt an otherwise emphatic run of victories. Incredibly, Old Amp's have been the beneficiaries of all three walkovers conceded in the first four months, finding themselves level on points with the Met having only beaten Old Cranleighans (bottom on -2) and Purley John Fisher who have had their own issues with raising a matchday squad regularly. Indeed, Old Amplefordians have not won a game over 80 minutes since 11th October!

In the PSUK Cup, an easy victory over neighbours Thames Valley was followed by the narrowest of defeats at Dyfed Powys. The forthcoming fixtures with South Wales Police followed by Gwent promise to be exciting, if only because the home game is at the London Irish complex in Sunbury and the Gwent fixture takes place at the legendary Cardiff Arms Park.

To date, Sam Druce has made the most appearances with 11, racking up 72 points in the process. Astonishingly, debutant Sunni Jardine is the Club's leading scorer with 92 points in his 7 appearances, made up of 16 tries and 6 conversions. Sam Bailey, Joe Stirrup, Sam Druce and Dylan Richards have all weighed in with three tries apiece. From a spectator's point of view, the Met is a good watch and are better than the overall results show, outscoring their opponents 29-20.

The Met have used 40 players so far, which is pleasing from a squad depth aspect, and surely hints at the possibility of a regular 2nd XV fixture list. However, this has to be balanced against the fact that, of those 40, nine have made only a single appearance.

The New Year arrives with high expectations. The short trip to Old Hamptonians in mid-January may be daunting and the Met will need to be at their very best in all departments if they are to challenge for any points but home games against Old Haileyburians (OH Exiles), Old Walcountians and, on the final weekend of the league season, Chipstead, should be targeted to ensure the Met finish in the top four.

Merry Christmas to all our readers and, as 2026 approaches and as Tess and Claudia might say "Keep Playing"