Aylesford 1st XV 16 Dover 1st XV 30

Dover’s pre season preparations certainly paid dividends in securing this victory against the much fancied Aylesford Bulls. In the blistering heat Dover’s young guns produced a massive performance in their first appearance on the London 3 South arena.
The game was fiercely contested and the Sharks were on the prowl from the very start. The game plan had been put into operation and Dover were intent on stealing and turning over the Bulls ball and that’s exactly what took place all afternoon. Dover took the lead on 7 minutes from a Martyn Beaumont penalty and the confidence soon began to grow. Ricky Stanley’s pack was outstanding. As normal they were much the smaller in size and weight; however their technique, strength and ability once again proved they have nothing to fear at this level. Young prop Shane Moore came of age on this excellent performance and Foz Foster and Adam Wallace, two forward converts this season, showed all their qualities and skills about the park. Dover mounted the pressure and on 23 minutes scored a spectacular try. Having turned over yet another ball Dover were awarded a 5 metre scrum. Buster Collins picked up at the base drove forward and set the ruck. The busy Ben Murray supplied Beaumont and with a clever long miss pass Lee Tonks hit a formidable line at pace to score. Shortly after the re start the Bulls were awarded a penalty that was slotted. There was no doubt that Dover had the better of the first half and had they not lost possession from a number of their line-outs it is perfectly possible that the margin might have been greater. When under pressure Ed Close and Ben Sedgwick were on hand at the back and Dover’s kicking from hand was much improved gaining them valuable territory deep in the Bulls half. Dover had defended admirably and had given little away in the opening half.
With the heat taking its toll Dover had to pull out all the stops in the second half if they were going to maintain the momentum already shown. Straight from kick off Foster turned over more ball, which resulted in Ricky Mackintosh being fed into space and he powered his way from 40 metres to score under the posts for a superb solo effort which Beaumont converted. Back came the Bulls and two good penalty kicks saw them reduce the score. On the second re-start the Bulls 8 knocked forward. Dan Robinson secured the ball and Mackintosh was again put into space. He kicked a beauty forward, Beaumont followed and with the Bulls making a hash of securing the ball the Dover skipper scored an opportunist touchdown that he easily converted. With just over a quarter left Aylesford responded in typical fashion. Lee Tonks was forced off with injury and Kirk Savage replaced Foster at hooker with the latter dropping comfortably to the wing. The pressure was taking its toll on Dover and the penalty count against was beginning to mount. Open side Jim Byrne, who had been exceptional all afternoon, left the park and within minutes the Bulls had scored a well earned try to reduce the deficit to 6 points. With 17 minutes remaining Dover’s physicality and energy was tested to the hilt. Direct from the re start Dover pressurised the Bulls. A poor clearance saw Mackintosh collect the ball just inside the opponents half. Another scorching run by the winger was made and an inside pass to Jamie Townley, in close support, saw him finish the move perfectly. Within minutes Beaumont kicked another penalty which had hopefully secured the win. Greg Hewer and Chris Lucas gave Dover fresh legs and the Sharks backs were against the wall for the remainder of the game. The defence from the Sharks was immense. Mackintosh and Townley put in two thunderous hits and each and every one of the team gave their all to stop the Bulls stampede. Gus Surrendorf, in his unfamiliar role at lock, and Collins showed their characters of strength working tirelessly for the cause. Dover’s problems mounted with Robinson being sin binned and Mackintosh following shortly after for a dangerous tackle. The penalty count continued, some of which were heavily contested by the Dover coaches. The Bulls supporters were calling for the heads of more players and their frustration only grew as they were having difficulty in making any penetration. Dover remained steadfast in their self belief and the Bulls were unable to dislodge the wall of blue.
Coach Graham Tonks was delighted with the performance; ‘We came here knowing that Aylesford are a good physical and well organised team. This performance tells me that our structure is good enough to compete at this level. The forwards were excellent today and the back row provided the platform to win the game. My players are sore and bruised and each and every one of them deserves my thanks for this effort. The intensity is much greater now and there won’t be any easy games. We must strive to work even harder and rectify the areas of weakness’.

Team; Stanley, Foster, Moore, Surrendorf, Robinson, Wallace, Byrne, Collins, Murray, Beaumont, Tonks, Townley, Mackintosh, Sedgwick, Close, Lucas, Savage, Hewer.

Dover face Lordswood next Saturday at Crabble – Kick off 1500 hours.
Report by: Richard Collins
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