Barnes 25-30 Dorking
Dorking Rediscover Form in Finely Balanced Contest
By Paul Mosley
Dorking shook off a stuttering start to the season to register their first victory with a sustained performance of strength and better control to see off tough perennial rivals Barnes.
Meetings between the two sides in recent years have all – without exception – been separated by very small margins and this was no exception, Dorking’s victory remaining in the balance until the final whistle.
But whereas Dorking were clean out of luck in their first games of the season, yesterday it seemed to return. From the kick off, Barnes found themselves a man down as influential second row Caelan Stanton saw yellow for taking out Dom Sammut in the air. It may prove to be the fastest yellow of the season.
Dorking looked good as they went through the phases and pressed hard, showing composure with prop Jimmy Litchfield, No 8 Kas Lee and centre Gareth Stephens catching the eye. And on 10 minutes Dorking won a scrum on their own 22, fly-half Jack Thorn hoisted a monster kick and Barnes allowed it to bounce into the grateful hands of Stephens who raced in for the try, which Thorn converted for 0-7.
Barnes hit back minutes later after their scrum half’s knock on at the base of a ruck went unseen and wing Jacques Birch barrelled over for a try, converted by Jack Park to level at 7-7.
Dorking’s aim this season is to reduce the penalty count, but on 18 minutes No9 Murdoch Lock was off for a technical yellow card, trying to stop a quick line-out, and Barnes took advantage shortly after with Park converting a penalty for a 10-7 lead.
With Thorn in fine kicking form this season, a penalty conceded to Dorking’s impressive scrum on halfway provided the No10 with a long but straightforward opportunity which he struck so well it was still rising as it sailed through the posts to level at 10-10.
And Dorking edged ahead 10-17 after a series of strong carries to the line when George Head touched down, with Thorn converting.
Great defence from Will ‘Colonel’ Sanders was arguably harshly turned to a yellow card for not releasing and soon Barnes hit back with a try for Tom Spencer-Jones and Park converted to see the sides level at 17-17 at the interval.
It’s always a big atmosphere when Dorking play Barnes and our usual army of travelling support were buoyed by the choir, the dulcet tones of the 2nd XV who played Barnes twos before the main event. It was possibly no surprise then when matters hotted up after play resumed with the first handbags of the day which showed how much this fixture means to both sides… and served to settle the lads down nicely.
Shortly after, Thorn thumped Dorking into a 17-20 lead with another beautifully struck penalty and a pick and go saw hooker George Head hurtling towards the line before delivering a delightful pass for No9 Lock to run in a great try. Thorn converted for 17-27.
Dorking continued to play smart rugby, kicking for position, but Barnes never let up and on 64 minutes Nick Barry received a mysterious yellow card, making it two years in a row at Barnes that Baz has been on the wrong end of a mistaken identity decision.
The Barnes pack then battered the Dorking line and forced a try wide out for Josh Naftalin, but the conversion was missed, the scoreline standing at 22-27.
With just three minutes to go, Thorn extended the Dorking lead to 22-30 with a penalty to relieve the pressure, but Barnes’ Park hit back with a minute to go with their own penalty for 25-30 to keep the Dorking away contingent’s collective bums clenched.
And just when it looked all over, Dorking’s kick to end the game failed to reach touch. There was a collective shriek of dread that Barnes might sneak it … but fortunately this week Dorking’s luck was in and the ball was ushered into touch by the Colonel. Cue sighs of relief and delight at a tough job well done.
DoR Armand Roux commented:
They always say you can judge someone’s character on how well they get up once they are down and these boys certainly stood up this week. Not only the players between the 4 lines, the wider squad and coaching team. Super proud of the efforts all round.
Don't get me wrong, we still made errors and coughed up possession too often and we will most certainly look into those moments this week.
The mistaken identify yellow card for Nick, was also a huge error and could have led to a bigger impact on the game, but luckily it turned out ok.
Our defensive tenacity allowed Barnes very little go forward and we were better this week taking the opportunities in front of us.
I thought Scholes led the team well, Coyle caught every high ball while Jack Thorn’s 100% kicking record (5/5) on a blustery day was certainly top drawer.
Momentum is everything and we cannot get complacent. Westcombe Park at home will be a challenge next weekend.
Team:
Dorking:
Max Coyle, Will Sanders, Gareth Stephens, Bryan Hotston, Theo Williamson, Jack Thorn, Murdoch Lock, Kas Lee, Harry Elbrow, Will Goodfellow, Will Scholes, Dom Sammut, Jimmy Litchfield, George Head, Zak Stephenson. Subs: Toby Tyson, Nick Barry, Daragh Chambers, Matt Gwyther, Tom Newman
