East Kent Cup match 2nd leg
Dover 3rd XV (17) v (8) Deal/Bettes
3rd XV
Played at Deal - Saturday 16th December 2006
With a deficit of 6 points from the previous leg, Dover had a tough game ahead of them. The development squad fielded their youngest team so far this season, with only 2 players over 20, yet this was to be their best performance to date.
The opening 10 minutes saw Dover playing frantic rugby. The forwards rucking was lightning fast, providing quick ball for the backs to run deep into the Deal lines. Deal’s frustration climaxed and the referee awarded a penalty to Dover within kicking distance, Mick “The Hoff” Gaughran slotted the kick, 3 points for Dover. Consistent phases up the pitch eventually paid off when inside centre, The Hoff, received an offload from fly half, “The Claw”, and powered through the defence and scored behind the posts, a successful conversion made the score 10-0.
After this wakeup call Deal picked up their defence and began to attack, yet Dover’s young pack stepped up and halted the onslaught, with terrific tackling from the back row: Sam Mac, Luke Clark, lanky Robbie James, and second row Calum Morrison. Deal’s ongoing attempts to get on the scoreboard were thwarted by Dover’s superiority in the set pieces; the scrums were strong, with the now 18 Ben Rix and Ron making their senior debuts at front row. However Dover’s discipline subsided and Deal were awarded a penalty in front of the posts, late in the first half. 10-3, and halftime.
The second half was a continuation of the first with Dover on the attack. However Dover’s well-drilled backs could not penetrate the now hardened Lions defence. With both teams now realising they had a fighting chance to win, the game became more even with Deal stepping up from the previous half. With 15 minutes to go, Dover’s defence was spread thin and a deal player broke through and scored in the corner. Fortunately the try was not converted. 10-8. With this in mind The Claw inspired the team with a passionate talk. Dover was not going to lose this one. Five minutes of fast-paced textbook rugby resulted in a score under the posts from the jinking Chris Holland. Converted. 17-8.
Deal went all out for the last 5 minutes, putting Dover under immense pressure. Robbie James held up a Deal try, and the following scrum was defended vigorously by Dover. Repeated Deal attacks were repulsed into touch with some of the most impressive gang tackling ever seen. After one last push by Deal, their fridge-on-legs was bowled into touch 5m from the Dover try line, and the final whistle was blown.
Squad: Ron McDonald, Steve “Mr. T” Wardle, Ben Rix, Calum
Morrison, Lee Aicken, Sam Mac, Robbie James, Luke Clark, Boz Burr,
Colin Claw, The Hoff, James Osmell, Chris Holland, Henry Haste, Sam
Chinland, Ryan Porter, Eddie Curtain, Chris Franks. Coaches:
Bryan Burr, George Clark.
Man of the match: Whole team, for such an amazing performance.
Reported by George Clark
