Colchester 25 – 38 Dorking
Five more points on the Road
By Kevin Beal
This weekend Dorking made their longest away trip of the season up the A12 to new boys Colchester. With probably the largest clubhouse in the league and a 3G pitch, (and welcoming hospitable supporters too) Colchester are very much a club looking to progress, and despite their position near the bottom of the league, all of their games have been close and high scoring, so complacency was definitely not the order of the day.
Shaking off the journey, the Red & Whites were quick out of the blocks scoring three tries in the first 15 minutes giving what looked like a comfortable 3-19 lead. First over the whitewash following a lineout catch and drive was Captain Jonny Ellis, and with Henry Anscombe’s touchline conversion good it was 0-7. Colchester replied swiftly, fly half Gabe Jones slotting a midfield penalty as Ma’am adjust the Dorking backs to be offside.
Dorking’s back line looked secure in both attack and defence, and soon earned a penalty as they snuffed out Colchester’s possession and forced a penalty for holding on. From a lineout on Colchester’s 22 the ball was taken first right and then left, and Tom Golder found himself with plenty of room for a charge to the line, releasing the ball as he was tackled to put the supporting Tyler Norwood in for Dorking’s second try, wide out on the left wing. With Henry’s conversion good, the visitors had a 3-12 lead. Sadly it was the last play for Golder, who damaged his shoulder as he landed, and he was replaced by Jasper King.
Collecting the ball from the re-start, Dorking attacked again through the backs and with full back Joe Andresen coming into the line at speed he was over, again out wide for the third, this time unconverted try. 3-19.
Sensing that the game was slipping away, Colchester kicked long at the restart and pressured the Dorking line with a succession of drives until Cabe, acting as scrum half picked up the loose ball and spun over the line to touch down for what looked like their opening try. Not to be though, as the AR called an infringement and Dorking had the chance, through Anscombe’s boot to clear their lines.
As the drizzle came down the ball became difficult for both sides to hold on to and moves from both sides broke down through handling errors, both forced and unforced leading to something of a stalemate and no despite lots of endeavour from both sides, there was no further score in the half.
The second half started well for Colchester as prop Callum Jeffery latched on to a loose ball at the kick off and charged through some weak Dorking defence to score under the posts. An easy conversion for Cabe, 10-19. And as the drizzle became heavier, and with it the ball more slippery, both sides found it harder to string together meaningful phases and the kick for territory became the preferred method of attack. Dorking were the more adventurous and were eventually rewarded as Steve Howorth, supporting a Jasper King break went over the line with several Colchester defenders attached, but was adjudged ‘held up’, so no score and a goal line dropout. Fielding the high ball ball, Dorking were back on the attack and again mover the ball cross-field where Norwood buffeted his way to the line for the bonus point try. With Anscombe’s conversion good, the visitors now held a 16 point lead.
Colchester rallied well and midway through the half struck twice, first through full back Faysal Olabooye and then Sam Easton, but with both conversions missed could only come within 6 points, a gap which soon opened again as Max Coyle took the ball at pace and hugging the touchline chipped the ball over the oncoming defenders to regather and score – always a risky move on the artificial turf but one which paid off – and with Anscombe adding the conversion the gap was once more 13 points at 20-33.
The final 15 minutes saw Colchester taking the game to Dorking, whose defence held firm, but as both teams tired, replacement Corey Button bullocked his way over the line to add another 5 points to their tally. 25 – 33. There was just enough time for a restart kick, and fielding the returned ball Jasper King made one of his trademark breaks through the centre, shaking off the defence but unable to quite make the line. So it was scrum half George Jackson, alongside in support who picked up the ball and flopped over the whitewash for the final score, and move of the game as, with Anscombe’s conversion drifting just wide, Ma’am blew for the end of the match.
Final score 25 – 38
Director of Rugby Armand Roux commented:
It's 5 points on the road and something you cant always take for granted in this league.
Colchester put up a big fight and somewhat complacent by Dorking once we worked our way to a 3-19 lead. So overall pleased with the 5 points and focus on our applicatin for the 9th November fixture.
Big thank you to Colchester and their hospitatlity.
Teams:
Colchester – Olabooey, Stanway, O’Reilly, Lloyd, Taylor, jones, Creighton, Jeffery, Rossouw, Mitchell, Easton, Pickett, Friend, Kerr, Whiteman. Replacements – McMillan, O’Neil, Gerard, Button, Brambley.
Dorking – Andresen, Coyle, Howe, Anscombe, McRae, Holland, Jackson, Karimanzera, Ellis, Bristow, Golder, Howorth, Chambers, Bloomer, Norwood. Replacements- Connor, Watson, Musa, King, Hotston
Referee: Holly Wood
Man of the Match: Max Coyle
