Dorking 47 – 27 Bury St Edmunds
McRae Hat Trick does the Trick
By Kevin Beal
Bury St Edmunds came down to The Big Field with a much changed side from recent years having had some 20 new signings to the squad and 18 or so players retire or leave. This, coupled with several new faces in the Dorking line up made it a difficult match to call over the pre lunch drinks, and it would be fair to say that both clubs were a little apprehensive ahead of the kick off. As it turned out Dorking outscored Bury St Edmunds by 6 tries to 3 with wing Toby McRae sealing the victory and his hat trick with a solo intercept try on the eightieth minute in what was a pulsating encounter between these two old rivals. This is not to say that it was an easy match for the Red & Whites, far from it as Bury brought their customary robustness in open play, although it was the Dorking forwards through the front row of Birch, Ellis and Bristow who had the edge in the set piece. Special mention too to Toby McRae and Jasper King, both of whom were celebrating their 50th National League appearances.
Eschewing their usual slow start, Dorking opened their account on the fourth minute as following a secure five metre line out, skipper Jonny Ellis was on hand to break off from the back of the rolling maul and touch down. With Henry Anscombe on target both with the conversion and, following some back chat to Sir from Bury a penalty restart from the half way line, the home team were 10-0 up. Bury then took the second re-start and immediately had a penalty of their own and they looked to emulate the hosts with a catch & drive line out of their own, held up but illegally by the Dorking Eight. A second attacking line out was disrupted by Dorking but another infringement gave Bury a further penalty, secure this time and the ball was chipped through into space by fly half Ben Penfold. Henry Anscombe won the footrace and secured the ball for Tom Hardwick to clear the Dorking lines and relieve the pressure, only for the Red & whites to commit another foul and give Penfold a simple short range penalty, 10-3.
Joe Andresen secured the ball from the high kick off and after a succession of forward drives, he combined with Tom Howe & Henry Anscombe to put Toby McRae in the clear for his first of the day taking the score to 17-3. Bury, taking advantage of a Dorking yellow card and the extra man then scored two tries in quick succession. The first, a well worked back’s move put centre Samir Kharbouch over near the posts on the burst and the second, straight from the re start as winger George Loose collected the ball and threaded his way up the touchline to dab down under the posts. Both were converted by Penfold to even the scores at 17 all, before Dorking’s Tyler Norwood touched down out wide following a period of concerted pressure from both forwards and backs to give the home side a 22-17 lead at half time.
McRae opened the account for Dorking in the second half as the ball was moved swiftly to him through the hands of messrs Baldwin, Holder, Anscombe and Howe. With Anscombe slotting another penalty to give a comfortable 30 – 17 lead, Dorking’s forwards began to win more ball in the loose giving their talented back line the opportunity to show some moves and great handling skills. It was however Bury’s Penfold who was next on the score sheet as he slotted another penalty in reply as Dorking infringed in the set piece scrum. The home side continued to exert pressure with Jasper King leading the way with some strong midfield carries, and Tom Golder went over by the posts for his first try in the Red & White shirt to extend the lead to 37 – 20 following a succession of pick and drives by the forwards.
Bury, sensing that the match might be slipping out of reach upped their game and lead by hooker Fin McCartney, who seemed to be everywhere fought back strongly with replacement Will Metcalfe crossing the line for a converted try in reply following a catch & drive lineout taking the score to 37-27 with fifteen minutes to go. Again Dorking responded with good pressure, but Bury’s defence held firm as first Jasper King and then Tom Howe and Toby McRae were held up over the line or just short. In the closing stages Henry Anscombe added a further penalty to effectively seal the game and in the dying minutes Toby McRae intercepted a wild Bury pass as they pressed for the try bonus to sprint up two thirds of the pitch to score under the posts. With Anscombe’s conversion a formality, the final score was 47-27.
Director of Rugby Armand Roux commented:
We have a lot of respect for Bury and the way they play so preparation was thorough this week.
I thought we played some great rugby in parts and brought some good intensity to the game; we missed a couple of opportunities and invited Bury to show their class with the mistakes allowing them to capitalise.
I’m super proud of the players that stepped in and stepped up this week which is a great testament to the work that everyone is putting in.
Henley next.
Scores
Dorking
Tries: Ellis (1) 4. Mc Rae (3) 24, 46, 80. Norwood (1) 36 Golder (1) 60
Conversions: Anscombe (4) 5, 25, 61, 80
Pens: Anscombe (3) 6, 50, 77
Bury St Edmunds
Tries: Kharbouch (1) 26, Loose (1) 29 Metcalfe (1) 65
Conversions: Penfold (3) 27, 30, 66
Pens: Penfold (2) 16, 55
Dorking:
Andressen, Hotston, Anscombe, Howe, McRae, Hardwick, Jackson, Birch, Ellis, Bristow, Golder, King, Must, Bloomer, Norwood. Replacements - Connor, Rawlinson, Chambers, Holland, Baldwin
Bury St Edmunds:
Shorthall, Loose, Kharbouch, Riddington, Affleck, Penfold, Mcphun, Calvin, McCartney, Cooper, Kelland, Williams, Grigg-Pettit, Sams. Replacements - Stone, Carmichael-Fraser, Lavin, Rees, Metcalfe
Star Player - Joe Andressen (Dorking)
Referee: Mr Conor Boyle
Attendance - 415
