Dorking Whites v Chobham – 21 April
Dorking Whites faced old rivals Chobham in the final of the Stoop Gold Cup on Sunday. Dorking had topped their group in this tier of the Harlequins Cup and faced a Chobham side who were U16 Surrey Champions two years ago. This was expected to be a stiff test for the Whites, who were fielding a team of mostly U17s against older and much larger opponents.
Finals day meant a return to London Irish and another very blustery day. The Dorking Reds squad, whose game was cancelled when Guildford withdrew in the week, were on hand to support having trained before kick off.
Dorking started brightly and the two teams cancelled each other out for the opening 10 minutes. Chobham were competing hard at the breakdown and repeatedly forcing Dorking back. Dorking then fielded the ball in their own 22 and turned down two opportunities to clear their lines. After being forced back towards their own line, they eventually kicked under pressure. The chase wasn’t good enough and the Chobham wing was able to run a diagonal line across the pitch, evading several tackles, and score to the left of the posts. 7-0
A fortuitous 50-22 then gave Chobham excellent field position. From the lineout, Chobham advanced towards the Dorking line and the giant prop forced his way over under the posts. 14-0
Chobham then extended their lead before half time with a moment of magic. Dorking failed to deal with a cross-field kick and the Chobham hooker offloaded to the supporting wing to run in from 60 metres. 21-0 at the break.
Dorking knew they were still in the game but had lacked a bit of ferocity at the breakdown. They put that right in the second half, tearing into the Chobham forwards, with Elliot Murray leading the way from the restart. With props Freddie Webb and David Terry carrying hard into contact, Dorking also ramped up the defence with Nick Humphreys and Liam Patterson repeatedly putting their bodies on the line.
Chobham, however, were hammering on the Dorking door and eventually stretched the defence too far and were able to cut back on the inside and score to the left of the posts. 28-0.
Dorking heads did not drop and they continued to battle as best they could. The Chobham defence held firm and continued to repel any Dorking attacks. Chobham were to have the last say with another strong line break. Man of the match Jude Goodyer, who was outstanding all day, hauled his man down short of the line but the supporting prop was able to power over for his second try. 35-0
This had been a valiant effort by Dorking against a much stronger Chobham side who were probably playing in the wrong tier of the competition. Despite the tricky conditions and relentless pressure from their opponents, Dorking fought to the end and limiting this Chobham side to only two tries in the second half when they had the wind on their backs, was a victory in itself. This young Dorking side also learnt some important lessons which will stand them in good stead next season.
The focus for Dorking now turns back to the National Cup final and the trip to Sixways next week.
