Will Ford's 80th-minute try shatters Old Wellingtonians and hands Alton their first London 3 win.

Where there's a will, there's a way. Alton had plenty of will but it was a Will who pointed them to their first London 3 victory of the season.

Number eight Will Ford scored all four of his side's tries as Alton left it so very late to beat an enterprising but ultimately overpowered Old Wellingtonians side at a drizzly Ruxley Lane.

Yet, never was the cliche about fine lines between success and failure truer than here.

When Wellies' full-back Alex Barker slotted his third penalty to give his side a 21-20 lead, Alton had eight minutes to salvage something from a game they had largely dominated.

The decisive score didn't come and as the game entered the 80th minute, Alton appeared once again to have blown it after they made a hash of an attempted pushover from a five-metre scrum.

However, Alton's forwards managed to retain possession and eventually Ford picked and plunged over from a yard out to secure victory with just seven seconds left on the clock. It was desperately, nerve-shreddingly tight.

Ford's clincher also secured a bonus point that could prove to be crucial in the end-of-season relegation mix.

It was a scrappy, stuttering affair that often resembled a kicking duel, but it was an enthralling game in which the lead changed hands seven times. 

Alton won because they were savvier, sharper and made fewer errors than in each of their first three games. They also utilised their main weapon to full effect, namely their forwards.

The pack were simply immense and it was they who conceived, planned and executed this victory.

Ford's four-try haul owed everything to a powerhouse front five, but flankers Mark Greenhalgh and Winston Carter were stand-outs, winning turnover ball at crucial times and tackling everything that moved.

Lacking their regular front row, Wellies' problems began and ended at the scrum, where Alton simply murdered them, particularly in the opening period. They also struggled for quick ruck ball and the mauls went backwards.

Behind the scrum, it was a different story. The home side were potent on the counter, with powerful runners in centre Elliott Freer and wing Richard Gower to the fore, but they simply never had a platform on which to sustain any meaningful pressure, Alton's forwards cutting off the quick possession supply at source.

By contrast, Alton's backs struggled to breach the gain line but their defensive qualities - notably those of Richard Hemmens and Matt O'Connor - proved every bit as important as the efforts of their forwards.

Alton dominated the opening period and opened the scoring when they drove Wellies over their own line from a five-metre scrum and Ford touched down.

But Alton promptly knocked on from the restart, conceded a penalty and Barker goaled.

Wellies then took the lead with a pearl of a try. An Alton attack broke down inside the Wellies' 22, some neat inter-passing freed Freer and his sizzling 60-yard break ended with a scoring pass to left wing Gower.

Barker missed with the extras but Wellies had a 10-5 lead and had barely spent a minute in Alton territory.

Steve Ott shaved Wellies' lead with a 24th-minute penalty and Alton nudged ahead with their second try on the half-hour mark.

A slick blindside move gave Hemmens a sight of the line but he was felled by a high tackle a couple of yards short. Alton opted for the scrum, pulverised the home pack once again and Ford claimed another touchdown for a 13-10 half-time lead.

However, the Old Boys went ahead immediately after the interval with another well-worked try.

A quick-fire break caught Alton's centres out of position, Barker came in from full-back to create the extra man, and he gave Gower a straightforward 20-yard gallop to the line. 

Moments later, Alton crossed again when Ford plunged over from close range after the ball squirted out of the back of a five-metre scrum.

Ott's conversion nudged visitors 20-15 ahead, but two more penalties from the immaculate Barker gave Wellies the lead before Ford shattered their hopes with his last-gasp try.

Old Wellingtonians: Barker; Byre, Freer (c), Simpson, Gower; Digweed, Price; Thing, Robertson, Moss (Harrison, 53); Caesar, Salmon;  Wheeler, Barnard, Kertesz.

Tries: Gower (13, 44);
Conversion: Barker;
Penalties: Barker (12, 59, 72)

Alton: Ott; O'Connor, Hemmens, Richards, Gill (van Rensburg, 63); Arundel, Collins; Happel (Ovens, 63), Parratt, Gay (c); Oliphant, Osborne; Greenhalgh (Flanagan, 71), Carter, Ford.

Tries:
Ford (9, 31, 52, 80);
Conversion: Ott;
Penalty: Ott (24)

With thanks to OWRFC for additional information.