Dorking Colts v Old Reigatian Colts match report 22/10/23
Dorking’s next opponents in the Surrey Cup were neighbours and perennial rivals Old Reigatians. Having played each other three times the previous season, with each game settled by a single score, Dorking were again expecting a stiff test. With some absentees over half term, this was also an opportunity to rotate the squad, and to bring some more of the exciting U17 players into the starting XV.
Dorking began with the slope on a pitch that had benefitted from the torrential rain in the week. Kicking to their opponents, Dorking made the ideal start. With pressure on the ORs receiver, the Dorking pack flooded the breakdown, regaining possession. ORs infringed and quick thinking from Scott Bloomfield, who tapped the ball and powered forward, saw ORs give away a second penalty. Dorking sensibly opted for the scrum 10 metres out. Some quick handling from the back put Will Simpson in for the try out wide on the left. This didn’t bother Tom Harper, who nailed the conversion. 7-0
Dorking maintained the pressure on ORs and were next to score. Despite losing their own lineout, the ORs clearing kick went straight to Charlie Aldridge. He spotted space out wide and Toby de la Hoyde finished things off in the far corner. Again Tom slotted the extras. 14-0
Dorking’s concentration started to slip and after a couple of silly offside penalties, Dorking found themselves pinned in their own 22. ORs took full advantage and another quick penalty saw their dangerous flanker outpace the Dorking cover to score in the far-left corner. 14-5
Dorking then thought they had scored the try of the day. Toby de la Hoyde dived to keep an ORs penalty from going into touch, setting up a line break from Will Simpson. Having got back to his feet and sprinted 50 metres, Toby was on hand to hack the ball over the line and outstrip the defence. Sadly he knocked the ball on and the try was disallowed.
The Dorking pack decided it was their time to show the backs how to finish. Woody Aldridge kicked a penalty to the corner and Dorking opted for their favourite trick line-out move, peeling off the front and putting hooker Lewis Gover into space. He still had some work to do but managed to wrestle the ball to floor for Dorking’s third try. 19-5
Dorking kept the pressure on ORs and from a strong scrum base, pack leader and man of the match Dan Gale picked the ball up and fed captain Alex Power. Eventually the ball worked its way to Tom Harper who cut back inside to beat three men for an excellent finish. 24-5
If the crowd thought that was special, Tom decided to take things to another level. Again from a strong scrum, the Dorking backs ran another slick move to put Tom Harper into space. With a covering tackler shepherding him into the corner, Tom took to the air diving over the line and dotting the ball down one-handed for the sort of finish you would expect to see at the World Cup.
29-5 at half-time but Dorking knew the job wasn’t done yet and that ORs now had the advantage of the slope.
Dorking decided to put the game to bed as early as they could. From a scrum on their right, and with penalty advantage, Will Simpson joined the line from fullback, powering into space. From quick ruck ball and some slick hands again, the returning Toby Winslet scored with his first touch. Tom Harper slotted another wide conversion for a 36-5 lead.
The Dorking forwards got in on the act again. From a scrum five metres from the ORs line, Dan Gale spotted space on the blind side and powered over. 41-5
The forwards were not done yet. Camped on the ORs line and playing with patience and control, Dorking deployed the pick and go, eventually tiring out the ORs defence and allowing Scott Bloomfield to power over close to the posts. 48-5
With the referee calling last play, ORs kicked the restart straight into touch, giving Dorking a scrum on half-way. A lovely set move saw Dan Gale stretch the defence and feed the backs, who offloaded out of the tackle on a couple of occasions to put Tom Harper in for what should have been his hattrick. He decided to celebrate with the “Ash Splash” which didn’t go down well with one of the ORs players (and Tom’s best mate). The referee decided to sanction some ‘afters’ with a penalty try to end proceedings.
55-5 to Dorking and job done. Again this was a really impressive full-squad performance, with all 23 boys delivering. Younger players such as Liam Patterson, Tom Ridgers, Charlie Aldridge and Jai Kamaluddin all impressed, demonstrating the depth of this year’s squad. In marked contrast to previous encounters, Dorking also kept their disciple throughout, aside from a cumulative tackle penalty earning Calum Maddick another yellow card to follow last week’s at London Irish.
Dorking now enjoy a break from competitive fixtures until they face Farnham in the final group stage of the Surrey Cup on 12 November.
