Canterbury 31 – 36 Dorking
Dorking make it 6 from 6
By Kevin Beal
Dorking’s trips to Canterbury have over the years been tightly fought contests, with the 1 point victory snatched in the last minute of the match last year being typical. In a nip and tuck contest punctuated by the referee’s whistle, Saturdays match was no different and after surging into a 10 point lead early on, Dorking were made to work very hard in defence in the latter stages of the second half to secure the bonus point win.
Canterbury kicked off playing uphill and into the wind, and immediately applied pressure which the Red & whites were equal to, with Henry Anscombe clearing the lines for a Canterbury line out midway between their 10 and 22 metre lines. From the ensuing play Canterbury knocked on and then gave away a scrum penalty affording Dorking’s Anscombe the chance of an easy 3 points with barely 3 minutes on the clock.
Collecting the re-start, Dorking’s Finn Osborne was stopped illegally on the half way line and from the penalty, Anscombe kicked to the corner for the line out. Quick ball tapped down by Will Scholes saw Captain Fred Dalton on the peel feeding the ball to Fraser Mosley on the burst and over for the first try of the afternoon. With another simple Anscombe conversion Dorking were 10 points clear with 10 minutes played.
Canterbury came back strongly at the restart taking play down into the Dorking 22 and keeping it there as they spread the ball wide. Attempting an intercept from a long Canterbury pass out wide, Dorking’s Craig Holland knocked the ball on, and as per the laws of the game, was shown a yellow card for a deliberate knock on. Canterbury kicked the penalty to the corner and set up a maul from which Scrum half Ben Cooper sniped over for their, and his first try, converted by fly half Frank Reynolds. 7-10. Dorking struck back immediately from the restart with another training ground line out move freeing up Scholes to go over unopposed for a converted try, before Canterbury retaliated with another Cooper try also converted. 14-17.
The game then settled down as both sets of players looked to overcome the other. Dorking’s Will Sanders squeaked over the try line in the far right hand corner for what looked like their third try, only to be called back by the assistant referee who adjudged a foot in touch. Further Dorking pressure forced strong Canterbury defence with Toby McRae marshalled into touch twice before Sanders was set free on the opposite wing shortly before half time. Keeping on the pitch this time the try was good, and with Anscombe’s conversion and no further score it was 14-24 to Dorking at half time.
Dorking kicked off the second half playing uphill, into the wind and with the sun in their eyes. Retaining possession courtesy of a penalty for a high tackle, they kept Canterbury pinned in their own 22, and following a yellow card for Canterbury’s lock Young, made the extra man count with a lineout, catch and drive maul and what is a now trademark Jonny Ellis try. With the conversion missed, but the bonus point in the bag Dorking were 14-29 up.
Canterbury responded strongly at the re start forcing Dorking to knock on. Securing possession, their back line took the ball deep into the Dorking 22 where a knock on in the tackle gave Dorking a relieving scrum put in. Canterbury’s fresh legs in the 2nd row had the Dorking set piece under pressure, but no8 Finn Osborne managed to pick up cleanly and break out, releasing Toby McRae for a 50 metre sprint to the line for Dorking’s 5th try. A difficult conversion sailed between the uprights and Dorking took what looked like an unassailable 14-36 lead on the 50 minute mark.
The final half hour very much belonged to Canterbury as they forced their way back into the match using the wind and the slope to keep Dorking camped in their own half. From the restart they attacked strongly with centre Garry Jones taking a pass at speed, shrugging off two Dorking tackles and then slipping the ball to wing Aiden Moss to run in unopposed. When Dorking did manage to break out, strong Canterbury defence prompted either a knock on or a penalty, from which the ball was returned to the Dorking 22 from Reynold’s boot. Eventually the pressure told with lock Shay Kerry driving over from short range for a converted try taking the score to 28-36, and with a further Reynolds penalty 5 minutes later taking the score to 31-36, the losing bonus point was secured.
Dorking took the re start kick and finished the match in the Canterbury 22 winning a penalty and a line out from which possession was retained. As the clock went red Anscombe kicked the ball into touch to end the match and secure the 5 point win.
Next week Dorking host Guernsey Raiders at The Big Field, kick off 2.30pm
DoR Armand Roux commented:
“I’m really pleased with getting 5 points today. I thought Canterbury is one of the better teams we have played this year which makes the win so much more pleasing.
We had the bit between the teeth defensively in the second half with some amazing character and resilience shown by the players to get the 5 points.
We took some of our opportunities really well and huge credit to the boys for executing our structure and making sure we keep the opposition guessing.
We have also seen some cracking tries, but Toby’s try in the second half “up the hill” was simply sublime.
We have another big challenge coming up this week, but for now I’m simply enjoying the performances this group is putting together”
Teams:
Canterbury: Davies, Orriss, Jones, Hollidge, Moss, Reynolds, Cooper, Holland, Morris, Herriott, Kerry, De Vries, Stephens, Rogers, Oliver. Replacements – O’Donoghue, Furneaux, Young, Best, Morgan
Dorking: Cowell, Sanders, Mosley, Anscombe, McRae, Holland, Jackson, Birch, Ellis, Bristow, Howorth, King, Scholes, Dalton ©, Osborne. Replacements – Watson, Stephenson, Grant, Andresen, Smith
Referee: Simon Waite
