Dover 1st XV (41) v (0) Maidstone 1st XV
Played 12th September 2009
Dover responded to their opening day defeat with a comprehensive victory over a lacklustre Maidstone side. With the slope in their favour in the opening half Dover dominated proceedings and the Stones were unable to counter the hosts speed and purpose around the pitch.
On the 9th minute Dover’s midfield opened the cracks with some fine play and Blair Charge touched down between the posts and he added the extras. The pressure continued and a Maidstone lock was binned for not retreating and Charge slotted the penalty that followed. There were some minor handling errors by Dover which put them under some unnecessary pressure but the defence was solid and any threat was easily averted. 
Dover harassed the visitors with Ben Murray 
marshalling his forwards well and causing havoc at the base of the Stones scrum. The second try came from a lineout with the ball fed through to centre Charge and a miss move with full back Nick Ford joining the line created the overlap for Ricky Mackintosh to touch down. Dover was by this time in full control and some of the rugby on display was scintillating. 
The Dover packs showed their strength up front and in the rolling maul and the backs were vibrant. Unfortunately there was an amount of ‘niggle’ creeping into the game with the Stones obviously frustrated that their spoiling tactics were having little bearing on proceedings at this point. The Stones hooker was having great difficulty in controlling his emotions to all and sundry, as was one of the locks and the young and inexperienced blind side thought, quite mistakenly and naïvely, that his efforts in trying to bully and intimidate the Dover players would pay off. The over use by the visitors boot was somewhat disappointing with a Dover player receiving a direct stamp to the face on more than one occasion. This only raised the tempo and Dover continued to press. Skipper Martyn Beaumont was next on the score sheet on the half hour when following some excellent forward play in the loose he broke blind to score under the posts and the conversion followed. 
Beaumont scored his brace shortly after when Dover’s 8, Dale Tonks, broke from a scrum on Dover’s 22. Murray was in support and a neat pass saw Beaumont finding the empty hole and running the distance under the posts with the extras added. The Stones tried to respond but the tackling was superb with Lee Tonks making some hefty hits and new boy Justin Marx was showing his defensive credentials throughout the game. Dover should have finished the half with another score as they again punished the Stones midfield but the certain try was disallowed for a forward pass.
The second half started again in Dover’s favour. On the 45th minute Dover secured their ball just inside their half. The ball was popped to flanker Buster Collins on the blind 
and he sprinted up the left flank past the winger before offloading to his partner in crime Jon Foster 
who easily made the ground to touch down with Charge converting. At this point the home supporters were hoping for a cricket score.
However from the resulting kick off Dover dropped the ball and the Stones then commenced their best period of play. Their lethargy stirred even further when Dover had two players sin binned over the next 25 minutes, both decisions controversial in the circumstances. The tactics adopted by Maidstone disrupted the free running game of Dover for a long period in the second half. Credit must be given to Dover as they showed strength in character and the visitors were unable to break their resolve with the defence remaining solid. The Stones had little to offer in their lost cause and were left ‘fighting’ to stop the points flowing. Ford was forced to leave the field after an excellent game at full back and Marx was struggling to cope with an injury, sustained in a ruck. Dover weathered the storm and fought their way up the slope with a great move that again splintered the Stones flimsy defence, which should have resulted in an additional score only for the ball to be dropped on the try line. Dover’s last score came from another scorching break with hooker Jack Tomlinson taking possession and juggling with the ball before crashing over. This was an excellent victory against a physical outfit which should now give Dover some confidence for their next game against local rivals Thanet Wanderers, which will undoubtedly be another test of character.
Senior Coach Graham Tonks commented ‘I am pleased with the efforts of the team today. We played some excellent rugby and apart from a few minor issues all aspects of our game was excellent. Maidstone tried to disrupt our game and paid the consequences for their over zealous attitude as the score line suggests’.
Team – Lucas (Hewer), Tomlinson, Stanley, Robinson, Sluman (May), Collins, Foster, Tonks D, Murray, Beaumont, Charge, Tonks L, Marx, Mackintosh, Ford (Coughlan).
Photos By Ian Shilston
Report by: Richard Collins
back to 1st XV Home Page
