Dorking 34 – 35 Canterbury
Canterbury Hold on as Dorking Fight Back In Final Flourish
By Kevin Beal
It’s not often that a side outscores the opposition by 6 tries to 4 and loses the game, but that’s exactly what Dorking did when Canterbury visited The Big Field on Saturday. Boasting what was believed (and subsequently proved) to be the best backline in the league, Canterbury showed their class as strong attacking running combined with robust defensive set ups put the home side on the back foot for a decisive 20 minute period at the start of the second half , along with garnering what turned out to be the deciding scores from a succession of penalties, well taken by the league’s top points scorer Frank Reynolds.
Dorking started well enough with a charge down and a converted try under the posts from Finn Osborne in the opening move of the game to give a 7 point lead in the first minute. This was swiftly countered as following a good re-start where man of the match, full back Kurt Heatherley leapt highest to retain the ball , the Canterbury back line cut loose to put centre Will Waddington in next to the posts, and with Reynold’s conversion the scores were level. In this tit-for-tat game Dorking replied with a fine try of their own on the left wing down in ‘coffin corner’ from back rower Will Scholes, on the end of great interplay between himself, Tom Howe and Craig Holland. 12 -7 as Henry Anscombe’s conversion drifted wide in the breeze.
The game then settled into more of a traditional pattern as both sets of forwards and backs probed and tested each other’s defences, giving the spectators a feast of fast running rand well defended rugby. Canterbury, it’s fair to say enjoyed the better of the exchanges as wing Aiden Moss ran in their second try following a sublime delayed pass from prop Danny Herriott which flummoxed the Dorking defence and left the smallest of gaps for him to jink through. And with Reynolds on hand to slot the conversion, they nudged into the lead 12-14. Shortly to be 12-17 and then 12-20 as Reynolds slotted firstly a simple penalty in front of the posts from the Dorking 22 as the Dorking defence strayed offside, and secondly from midway in the host’s half as they held on to the ball in the tackle for a fraction too long.
Final words of the half belonged to Dorking as Tom Bloomer, on for the injured Tyler Norwood emerged from the bottom of a collapsed rolling maul to claim the score following a 5m lineout catch and drive. 17-20, at half time, as Anscombe’s conversion rebounded off the post.
Playing downhill and with the wind, Canterbury immediately took the ball into the Dorking half – where play remained for the next 20 minutes as they applied pressure through their strong centre partnership and back row. And as the Dorking back line strayed offside, Reynolds was on hand again to punish them with a further penalty goal, following which Heatherley, with the best score of the day scythed open the home side’s now wary defence in a training park miss move. With Reynold’s conversion missed, the visitors had a 17-28 lead, shortly to become 17-35 as prop Dan Huntley rumbled over from the back of a set piece catch and drive. With three quarters of the match gone, Dorking were now 18 points adrift and on the rack.
Step up veteran prop Tom Bristow, who with 10 minutes to go, from a close range catch & drive line out was over for the first of his brace, converted by Anscombe. 24-35. And then again 10 minutes later with a carbon copy of his first, but this time without the conversion. 29-35. Game on. In the closing minutes of the game, and very much with their tails up, the Dorking side produced the sort of rugby that the home supporters have come to take for granted, and as the ball was spun to and fro cross field in wave after wave of attacks it was Canterbury’s turn to be on the rack. Eventually the pressure told, the gaps in defence opened, and Max Coyle was able, in what proved to be the last move of the game, to round the final defender and touch down for Dorking’s 6th try. Canterbury’s defence however kept him out wide, an act that was to prove decisive as stand in kicker Craig Holland shaved what could have been the winning kick just wide of the posts to leave the Dorking faithful pondering what might have been, and Canterbury relishing a slender, but deserved 1 point win.
In closing, credit in this pulsating game must also go to the referee, Mr Phil Russell who allowed the game to flow whilst at the same time getting the important decisions correct.
DoR Armand Roux commented:
“Congratulation to Canterbury today. I thought they showed some great hunger and desire to take the opportunities when they presented themselves.
It is a tough one loosing after the ten game winning streak we were on, but know that we cannot take anything for granted in National 2 East.
We had some great moments today on both sides of the ball today but fell agonisingly short on the scoreboard as we left many points out there.
The fight and resilience in this group of players is still something I am proud of and even though the loss is a bitter pill to swallow, it will not define us.
Straight over to Barnes this week for another top of the table clash and will have to bounce back”
Final score: Dorking 34 Canterbury 35
Half-time: Dorking 17 Canterbury 20
Scorers:
Dorking:
Tries: Osborne, Scholes, Bloomer, Bristow 2, Coyle
Cons: Anscombe 2
Canterbury:
Tries: Waddington, Moss, Heatherley, Huntley
Cons: Reynolds 3
Pens: Reynolds 3
Man of Match: Kurt Heatherley (Canterbury)
Dorking:
Andresen, Coyle, Howe, Anscombe, Holland, Hardwick, Jackson, Bristow, Ellis (c), Stephenson, Howorth, Golder, Scholes, Norwood, Osborne. Replacements - Rawlinson, Musa, Chambers, Bloomer, Baldwin
Canterbury:
Heatherley, Jones, Morgan, Waddington, Moss, Reynolds, Williams, Huntley, O’Donoghue, Herriot, Irvine, Stephens (c), Thomas, Rogers, Oliver. Replacements- Furneaux, Frostick, McGovern, Farrance, Orris.
Referee: Phil Russell
Attendance: 453
