London Welsh 10 – 33 Dorking
Dorking too strong for Welsh
By Kevin Beal
It was good to finally get to sample the legendary hospitality at Old Deer Park, a ground made famous by the Welsh and Lions Internationals of yesteryear and boasting, according to the Exiles faithful, one of the finest playing surfaces in the National Leagues. (it did look pretty good – Ed). Dorking arrived with points to prove and scores to settle following last season’s closing match played at Richmond where it would be fair to say they weren’t firing on all cylinders, and with Welsh keen to replicate their form on that day and keep their season on track a mouthwatering contest was expected.
‘Tight’ would be a good adjective to describe the first half which ended at 5 all, one try apiece with Dorking on the board early on and Welsh replying just before the half time whistle. Things were pretty even in the set piece, although both sides had trouble controlling their lineouts and Dorking’s new centre Ben Heber looked to have assimilated the playbook well as he was involved in multiple backline moves. But it was Dorking, playing in their away strip of blue & white who were first over the whitewash as Dom Sammut stole a Welsh lineout on half way and moved play up to the 22 where Dorking were awarded a set scrum. A quick clean heel and scrum half Tom Newman set the backs off with Heber breaking the gain line freeing up Will Sanders for a sprint to the corner. With Jack Thorn’s touchline conversion shaving the wrong side of the posts it was 0-5.
Welsh stormed back and with their influential half back pairing of Hywel Williams and Ed Morgan, supported by Prem veteran Max Bodilly and Osian Mcavoy leading the charges it was only stern Dorking defence which kept the zero on their side of the scoreboard, although a couple of Welsh scoring pass fumbles did help to some extent. Kept short of possession, Dorking were unable to mount many meaningful attacking moves, but when they had the ball they did look dangerous on the front foot with Jasper King, Nick Barry and Harry Elbrow punching through the Welsh defensive line. But for the short ‘in goal’ area Sanders would have had his second as he chased down Thorn’s grubber kick through, but the ball bobbled agonisingly out of play just as he reached it, and Welsh regrouped to take play back into the Dorking half. A penalty for a Dorking offside, a kick downfield and the Welsh were on the Dorking 5m line with the throw in, taken quickly to the front of the line – you don’t see too many of those these days – and a pop inside pass to lock Ed Cousins who crashed over for the equalising score, again unconverted making it 5 apiece. And that’s how the first half ended.
With the clubhouse a good canter away from the action it was an old fashioned half-time break with the players remaining on the pitch and some entertainment from the combined London Welsh Male Voice Choir featuring, naturally ‘Guide Me O Though Great Jehova’, designed to gird the loins and stiffen the sinews of the home side. It was, however Dorking first on the board again as Thorn immediately found the unmarked Sanders on his wing with an accurate kick pass for the try, again out wide but this time converted to make it 5-12.
This seemed to spur Dorking on and from then on the match took on a different complexion as they mounted wave after wave of attacking moves, forcing the Welsh onto the back foot and into defensive mode. With Tom Newman hoisting massive kicks from the base of the scrum and Coyle, Sanders and Barker all solid chasing and retrieving the high ball, the majority of the action was in the home side’s half.
Two further well taken penalty goals from Dorking’s Thorn, bisected by a fine solo try from Welsh’s Mcavoy gave Dorking a 10-18 lead with half an hour still to play, but from then on in the result never looked in doubt, particularly as Dorking’s fitness started to show and the Welsh injuries mounted. A third long distance penalty from Thorn, as the Dorking scrum exerted its dominance, effectively secured the win taking the score to 10-21 on the 65 minute mark before two further tries, again a result of forward pressure, from Ted Wilkie and Tom Newman secured the bonus point win. With one of the two conversions good the final score was 10-33.
Director of Rugby Armand Roux commented:
“We are slowly gaining momentum and are pleased to get 5 points against London Welsh on the road.
I thought the pack laid a solid foundation for us and Tom Newman, in his first start, kept the speed of the ball up.
We still have a fair way to go to realise our potential as a team, which is pretty exciting considering we are getting a few good results. We are growing and developing as the season goes which is always a challenge but the opportunity is there for players and some are really stepping up
Guernsey will be a big test next weekend”
Team:
Coyle, Sanders, Hotston, Heber, Barker, Thorn, Newman, Stephenson, Tyson, Barry, Sammut, King, Elbrow, Gwyther, Scholes ©. Replcements – Rawlinson, Wilkie, Chambers, Lichfield, Lock.
Man of the Match:
Jasper King
Referee:
Harry Parsons
Attendance:
602
