Dorking Colts v London Irish Colts match report 15/10/23
Dorking Colts switched competitions on Sunday and opened their defence of the Surrey Cup with a visit to London Irish. Dorking didn’t know what to expect from their opponents, but as they had opted to enter the top tier of the competition, Dorking knew they were in for a test. That said, they took the opportunity to rotate the squad again, giving a number of U17s their competitive debuts.
With the temperature a good 14 degrees below last Sunday’s heatwave, Dorking began with the wind behind them playing into the sun.
Dorking started brightly, exerting pressure on the Irish scrum, and forcing a knock-on close to the Irish line. A strong Dorking scrum and some quick hands gave centre Chris Styles space. He expertly stepped the covering defensive line and offloaded to Woody Aldridge to score from short range. Tom Harper added the extras for a 7-0 lead.
The Dorking pack were getting the upper hand and from a stolen lineout, Dorking moved the ball from side to side, with deft handling skills. Spotting a gap in the defence, Woody Aldridge slotted a clever kick in behind London Irish and Toby de la Hoyde outpaced his opposite number to score in the far-left corner. Tom Harper was undeterred and slotted the conversion from wide out for a deserved 14-0 lead.
London Irish then began to get a foothold in the game. Dorking were defending stoically, with Scott Bloomfield, Will Elkeles and Dan Gale all making big tackles. However, a string of penalties five metres from their own line proved too much, and an Irish forward finally broke the line to pull a score back. 14-7
The Dorking pack turned the screw again, taking a scrum against the head. Woody Aldridge chipped into space and captain Alex Power expertly fly-hacked the ball through and outpaced the defensive cover. Before he could reach the ball, he was pulled back by an Irish player. The referee spotted the infringement and immediately awarded Dorking a penalty try to restore their 14-point lead.
Dorking were keen to put the game to bed. Defensive pressure forced a Dorking scrum 5 metres from the Irish line. Good hands again put Chris Styles into space. He was tackled just short of the line but a quick recycle put Toby de la Hoyde in for his second score. 26-7 to Dorking.
The Dorking forwards then had their say. Rather than opting to drive a lineout close to the Irish line, a perfectly executed move saw pack leader Tom James peel round to the front, draw the Irish hooker, and pop the ball to man of the match Reuben Pilbeam to score out wide. 31-7 at half time.
The second half proved more of a challenge for Dorking. London Irish were a constant threat in the tight action and after camping on the Dorking line, powered over once again to claw a score back. 31-14
Dorking then responded immediately. Centre Will Simpson found space out wide and powered through the Irish defensive line and then sped away from the chasing backs to score under the posts. 38-14 and surely that was it.
Sadly not, as Dorking continued to rack up the penalties. Eventually the referee decided that one too many infringements meant that substitute Duncan Stott should spend a few minutes on the naughty step. Taking advantage of the man advantage, Irish again scored from close range. 38-21
Dorking then lost another man to the bin, hooker Lewis Gover adjudged to have tipped his man in the tackle. Again, Irish took advantage of their numerical supremacy, scoring out wide to pull the score back to 38-26.
Under increasing pressure, Dorking’s discipline disintegrated. Captain Power was also guilty of a tip tackle and flanker Calum Maddick decided to join the ensuing melee, both of them earning yellow cards. From the penalty, Irish decided to run straight into prop Scott Bloomfield, who put in the biggest tackle of the day. Unfortunately, the referee judged it high and Dorking lost a fifth player to the bin. With a four-man advantage, Irish tried to launch one final attack but Tom James was on hand to drive his man into touch.
Relief for Dorking and a bonus point win. But this was a disappointing end to the game and could have proved more costly. With local rivals Old Reigatians at home in the next round on Sunday, Dorking know their discipline has to improve.
