Dorking Colts hosted Reading on Sunday, a relatively new fixture for the club. Reading had a few boys at county trials and so this was another opportunity to rotate the large Dorking playing squad ahead of the next round of competitive fixtures.
The match was moved to the top of the Big Field after the rain of the last few weeks, but the sun was out and the pitch was in great nick. So were Dorking. With nearly 40 boys in attendance the coaches were able to tun a full Whites squad, with the remainder ‘enjoying’ some fitness work with David Power.
Dorking began brightly, playing up the slight slope but with a strong wind on their backs. Reading were immediately under pressure and began to concede a string of penalties. Dorking, however, couldn’t exploit a number of opportunities, with the final pass not quite going to hand.
Fly-half Matt Young then decided to take things into his own hands, quickly tapping a penalty 10 metres from the Reading line. A quick recycle saw Young pop up again and despite a strong Reading tackle, he was able to stretch over the line, one-handed, for the first score. Josh Spooner, who was not to miss a kick all day in an impressive performance, slotted the extras. 7-0
The first half then followed a similar pattern with Reading conceding more penalties but Dorking not finishing their opportunities. Dorking thought they had finally scored again when the outstanding Will Elkeles broke from a scrum and powered over the Reading line, only for two defenders to hold him up.
Reading were also starting to look dangerous on the break, with some strong runners out wide. However, Dorking managed to snuff out each attack, with man of the match Ollie Belam tackling well above his weight and covering a huge amount of ground to haul down his opponent a couple of times to keep Dorking narrowly in front.
That lead was to grow just before half time. With yet another Reading penalty, Dorking cleverly opted to tap and run it, setting up two pods to confuse their opponents. Will Elkeles was the beneficiary, forcing his way over for the try. 14-0 at half time.
Dorking turned around knowing the job wasn’t done, particularly as they were playing into a blustery wind.
That didn’t deter them and they were first to open the scoring in the second half. After another strong scrum, the Dorking backs moved the ball left, approaching the Reading line. The forwards then took over and after a couple of close range drives, flanker Calum Maddick forced his way over. 21-0
It was then the turn of some of the other forwards to get in on the act. Substitute prop Scott Bloomfield caused panic in the Reading ranks by picking up a loose ball from a lineout and powering through from 22 metres out. 28-0
Oli Smith then took over with a similar score, sprinting into the clear from 25 metres out and showing impressive speed to outpace the cover. 35-0
That was the match pretty much done. Dorking held out with some more solid defence in the second half, earning the shut out.
This was a much improved performance from the previous week at Sevenoaks. The Dorking Whites played with real structure and executed the game plan in impressive fashion. A number of players had their best games for the Colts, with Joe Simpson and Jacob Hughes making a real impact off the bench. This will give the coaches some selection headaches for the return to Surrey Cup action next week at Farnham.
