Dorking 59 – 14 Guernsey Raiders
By Kevin Beal
Dorking Blitz repels the Raiders
Guernsey Raiders’ last visit to the Big Field saw the home side snatch a dramatic 4 point victory in the dying minutes of a closely fought match, and the return visit to St Peter Port by the Red & Whites ended in a 4 point defeat in a similarly close encounter. So with Guernsey Raiders despatching namesakes Worthing Raiders by a 24 point margin last week and with rumours of some player recruitment from the recently folded Championship side Jersey Reds, there was an air of apprehension amongst the Dorking supporters as they checked in at The Big Field. Unnecessarily as it turned out, as hat tricks from fly half Craig Holland and wing Toby McRae sealed Dorking’s best performance of the season thus far with nine tries in total, seven of which were converted against two second half consolation tries from the Raiders.
From the off, Dorking showed their intent as Holland crossed the line with barely three minutes on the clock, followed by his second on the twelve minute mark. With one conversion by Henry Anscombe, Dorking had a comfortable 12 – 0 lead which they never looked like relinquishing.
Starving Raiders of possession and running the ball at every opportunity, the Red & Whites had control of the match with the forwards dominating in the loose and the backs, relishing the armchair ride this afforded cutting loose at every opportunity. Dorking’s third try came from a line-out move that saw prop Tom Bristow detach from the back of a rolling maul to crash over from short range, with Anscombe adding the conversion to make it 19 - 0. Then on the half hour mark another training ground line out move saw quick possession and the ball released down the back line to winger McRae who streaked down the touchline to score the bonus point try in the bottom left hand corner. Not to be outdone, forward Will Scholes was next on the score sheet on the stroke of half time with a 70 metre sprint to the line following a Fred Dalton turnover in the Dorking 22, making it 33 – 0 at the break. Raiders had their chances in the half, but were unable to capitalise as stiff Dorking defence, in particular some crunching tackles from centre Tom Howe and hooker Jonny Ellis snuffed out attacks before they could get going.
Continuing where they had left off, Dorking began the second half with two tries out wide by McRae. The first from a break upfield by Anscombe supported by Captain Dalton with Howe feeding the final long pass out wide, and the second following a miss move in the backs drawing the defence and leaving a clear run to the try line. Dorking’s eighth try, effectively closing the game down started with lock Jasper King punching through the Raiders defence and offloading the ball to Howe who had space and pace to round the defence and touch down in the top left hand corner. With all three conversions by Anscombe good, Dorking were 52 – 0 ahead with twenty minutes of the match to go. Raiders responded in the final quarter with two well worked tries of their own through Dan Barnes and Ciaran McGann, both converted by scrum half Rutledge, but it was Dorking’s Holland who had the final word with an interception try under the posts as Raiders threw the ball around chasing their third try.
Full time score Dorking 59 – 14 Guernsey Raiders
A well deserved two weekends rest for the team to enjoy the World Cup semis and final before the next match on November 4th, away to Old Albanians.
DoR Armand Roux Commented:
“I thought we played some cracking rugby today.
Our set piece went well but it was in the phase where I felt our transition was excellent alongside some fantastic energy.
Guernsey is not a bad side in the slightest, which makes today’s victory even more pleasing.
Man of the match – Craig Holland
Teams:
Dorking: Cowell, Sanders, Howe, Anscombe (vc), McRae, Holland, Jackson, Bristow, Ellis, Stephenson, Howorth, King, Scholes, Dalton (c), Osborne, Birch, Watson, Grant, Mosley, Smith
Guernsey:
Roberts, McGann N, Barnes, Mcgann C, Teasdale, Simmonds, Rutledge, Dunn, Burger, Currie, Hillier (c), Webb, Creber, Rice (vc), Hackett, Bray, Steventon, Culverhouse, Rice, Davies
Referee: Mr Tom Bird
Scorers:
Dorking:
Tries – Holland (3) 3, 12, 78. Bristow (1) 22. McRae (3) 32, 45, 50. Scholes (1) 40. Howe (1) 53.
Conversions-
Anscombe (7) 34, 23, 33, 41, 51, 54, 79.
Raiders:
Tries - Barnes (1) 66 McGann (1) 75
Conversions - Rutledge (2) 67, 76
