Dorking 41 – 38 Sevenoaks
Dorking take the spoils as Oaks see Red
By Kevin Beal
Over the past few seasons Dorking v Sevenoaks fixtures have been close fought affairs, and this match was no exception. An attritional game with 6 tries apiece saw Dorking run out winners by the margin of a single penalty, and with both teams looking to play an expansive game as the score see sawed back and forth it was an afternoon for the backs with Dorking’s wingers Toby McRae and Will Sanders delivering a brace and Oaks’ full back Ben Adams a hat trick.
Oaks kicked off playing downhill and were first on the scoreboard as with 7 minutes played lock Kenny Lee drove over from short range following a penalty, line out and a succession of pick and drives with Adams adding the extras to give a 7 point lead. Dorking’s reply came in similar circumstances as Finn Osborne muscled over close to the posts and Henry Anscombe levelled the scores on the 15 minute mark. The home team then swiftly added a second as McRae finished off a well worked backs move to touch down next to the posts, again converted by Anscombe.
From the restart Dorking took possession and drove through the midfield only to cough up the ball in contact and following an Oaks 50-22 kick found themselves under pressure once more from the aggressive Oaks pack. A relieving Anscombe touch kick took play back to the midfield where Oaks infringed at the breakdown and a back to form Anscombe slotted what would turn out to be the match deciding penalty from just inside the visitor’s half. 15-7 with half an hour played.
Oaks came straight back with a try from the deceptively fast flanker Matt Mcrae, (no relation) who outsprinted the cover defence to touch down for an unconverted try in the right hand corner. Not to be outdone, Dorking’s McRae scored his first of the day as Osborne picked up from the back of the scrum and fed the ball to Anscombe, thence on to Tom Howe whose pace put both him and McRae in the clear for 1-2 run to the line. With Anscombe’s conversion good Dorking took a comfortable looking 10 point lead, 22-12.
Oaks however had other ideas and following concerted pressure on the Dorking try line and a yellow card for Dorking’s Bristow finished the half stronger with two further converted tries. The first a proper sniping scrum half’s score from Jamie Horner from a close range pick up and the second a blistering run from full back Adams leaving the Dorking defence flat footed, giving them a try bonus point and a half time lead of 22-26.
Dorking came out of the blocks quickly at the start of the second half securing their own bonus point try two minutes into the second half as wing Will Sanders found space out left as Howe’s pass put him clear. With Anscombe’s conversion good, the home team retook the lead 29 – 26. Adam’s reply two minutes later as Dorking gave away a penalty and subsequent Oaks’ line out restored Oaks’ lead, 29 – 33, but further tries from Dorking’s Jonny Ellis from a line out catch & drive and another out wide for Sanders, with one converted put clear water between the sides and a home win began to look probable.
Sandwiched between these two tries Oak’s flanker Angus Southon earned himself a session with the disciplinary panel for a red card following a clumsy tackle on Dorking’s Holland, who sadly had to leave the pitch along with Captain Dalton injured in the same move which somewhat disrupted the home side’s pattern of play. But despite being down to 14 men for the final 10 minutes, it was Oaks who had the final say as captain Sean Derrick broke off the back of an attacking scrum in the Dorking 22 and fed the ball to Adams for his hat trick, and with the conversion missed the score was 41 – 38.
There was however time enough for further passages of midfield play and for Oaks to break out and cross the Dorking line again, disallowed as it turned out for a double move to ground the ball as the defence held solid. And from the ensuing penalty, line out and ruck Dorking retained the ball and a grateful Sanders kicked the ball dead to secure the victory.
Final Score Dorking 41 – 38 Sevenoaks.
Next week Dorking are away at TJ’s where another hotly contested match is expected on the moist banks of the Medway.
DoR Armand Roux commented:
“Very pleased with the 5 points against a strong Sevenoaks team.
We struggled with exiting well in the first half and every time allowed Sevenoaks to get back into our 22m where they capitalised very well.
The true Dorking resilience was again on show as we had to dig deep in certain periods of the game and managed to get the upper hand and looked comfortable on the ball.
Overall very pleased about so many aspects of our game today and if we can get a couple of small bits tweaked then we will be ready for next weekend.
I would also like to wish Craig Holland all the best with his recovery after suffering from a somewhat reckless tackle as both players are now paying the price”
Teams:
Dorking:
Andresen, Sanders, Howe, Anscombe, McRae, Holland, Smith, Bristow, Ellis, Stephenson, Howorth, King, Jardine, Dalton (c), Osborne
Replacements - Watson, Connor, Chambers, Grant, Jackson
Sevenoaks:
Adams, Galligan H, Stone, Corrigan, Galligan C, Livets, Horner, Strainge, Sedgewick, Simmonds, Burmeister, Lee, Southon, Mcrae, Derrick (c)
Replacements - Naismith, Green, Higgins, Ruafi, Spice
Referee - Alex Rose
Attendance 850
Scores:
Dorking:
Tries: Osborne 14mins, McRae (2) 18 & 36 mins, Sanders (2) 47 & 64 mins, Ellis 54 mins
Conversions; Anscombe (4) 14, 36, 48, 55 mins
Penalties: Anscombe 28 mins
Sevenoaks
Tries: Lee 7mins, Mcrae 30 mins, Horner 36 mins Adams (3) 40, 45, 75
Conversions: Adams (4) 8, 36, 40, 46
Star Man – Will Sanders, Dorking
