Woking Rugby Club produced a superb first-half performance as they picked up a comprehensive 55-17 win at Merton in Surrey Counties Five.

Following a rest week, Woking returned to Surrey Counties Five action with a trip up the A3 to Merton.

Despite several injuries and absences, Woking named a full 20-man squad and were ready to build on the form shown in earlier games that saw them topple the league leaders in their previous fixture.

Woking did not take their foot off the pedal from the start, with powerful runs from the returning James Turner-Wells and John Dickie giving the new half back combination of Rhys Parker and Michael Aitchison plenty of time and space to orchestrate proceedings.

The visitors had raced into a 31-0 lead with 18 minutes gone, with tries coming from captain for the day Keiran Williamson, Tom Capstick, Josh Claydon and Adam Quinn (2).

At their rate of scoring it looked like Woking could rack up triple figures, with the message going round to not get complacent.

However, a combination of trying to keep the ball alive in greasy conditions and a series of injuries saw prop Joe Griggs, hooker Mark Rose, centre Andy Walsh and the influential Claydon, the latter with a nasty broken thumb, all depart in the space of ten minutes.

With their momentum taken away Woking allowed Merton to come back into the game.

However, Woking had the slope in their favour in the first half and did manage to extend their lead as Dickie and Turner-Wells touched down to give the visitors a 45-0 lead at half-time.

Despite the emphasis on sticking to the gameplan in the second half, Woking were unable to continue their scintillating first-half form.

Through a combination of playing uphill and changes because of the injuries sustained in the opening half, Woking never regained their dominance.

Instead, it was Merton who gained the upper hand in terms of possession and territory as the visitors’ defence worked hard to keep out a reinvigorated Merton side.

Occasionally, thanks to individual brilliance, Woking were able to add to their lead with a further two tries from Quinn who took his personal tally to four tries.

As Woking tired and were reduced to 14 men because of a yellow card Merton were rewarded for their perseverance with three late tries to take the final score to 55-17.

Williamson said: “A bit of a mixed day. I was delighted on how we started and the ruthless brand of rugby we played.

“However, the injuries to key personnel and forgetting our gameplan was a bit of a disappointment.

“Full credit to Merton for their efforts in the second half but we need to get back to training.”