Dover 1st XV (30) v (8) Chichester

Dover moved into third spot in London 3 with a solid performance against an aggressive and physical Chichester side. Dover kicked up the slope in the first half and apart from an early Chichester penalty miss the Sharks dominated the half with some excellent rugby. Martyn Beaumont opened the account with a penalty on 6 minutes and the Sharks increased the pressure on the visitors showing strength and purpose both in defence and counter attack. Ten minutes later on Chi’s 5 metre scrummage the Dover forwards caused havoc. Chi’s scrum half threw an ‘exocet’ at the kicker which rebounded of his headgear with open side Jim Byrne pouncing on the ball to touch down. The conversion followed. Dover’s forwards were creating mayhem up front in the set piece and a second try was scored shortly after when the pack ran over Chi’s put in. Buster Collins picked up on the blind side and fed winger Ricky Mackintosh who powered 30 metres up the flank to score. It was becoming a physical encounter with a certain amount of tetchiness starting to creep into the game, the majority of which went unnoticed. Dover were forced at times to defend with Jamie Townley and Lee Tonks solid in the middle and Ed Close was outstanding both in defence and on the counter attack with some breath taking running. At the interval Dover were in control although the fluency of their game had been disrupted by the visitors.
The second half started well with Beaumont slotting a further penalty to increase the lead. Craig May was brought on for the injured Byrne and he had an excellent game in defence, particularly in the later stages of the game. Chis upped their game and were allowed possession through indiscipline and loss of lineout ball which was disappointing. Kevin Kimble had his first outing of the season and he should be pleased with his performance and Shane Moore and Rick Stanley were rocks against some heavy opposition. The second half endured a scrappy affair with mistakes and infringements afflicted by both teams which certainly stemmed the flow of the game. However there was one further piece of brilliance left when Collins stole a ball at the base of the lineout and set up a ruck. Inside half Ben Murray fed quick ball to Beaumont and with a perfectly timed miss pass Ben Sedgwick appeared from nowhere and ‘ghosted’ past two defenders to touch down for the try of the day. Beaumont finished his day with another fine penalty kick minutes later. The last 20 minutes was a frustrating time for Dover as they were under the cosh and conceding numerous penalties in open play. The Sharks were forced to muster their strength and energy and they certainly were made to work hard in unnecessary circumstances with some mighty hits raining in. Chichester did breach the defence in the last minute when a burly forward powered over and he was awarded a touchdown that was hotly contested as being held up by all the Dover players and supporters close to the score. Although the game was well won there was a disappointing end to the game when the referee adjudged Dale Tonks to have stamped a player receiving a red card, which I believe was harsh in the circumstances as the player involved was Dover’s 8 Gus Surendorff. The game had been a physical encounter between two good sides and there had been the usual exchanges expected at this level.
Senior Coach Graham Tonks commented ‘We dominated up front and created a solid platform to enable us to win a good hard contest. The penalty count was simply unacceptable and something that we must control and it has again cost us’.

Team Mooore, Savage, Stanley, Tonks D, Kimble, Collins, Byrne, Surendorff, Murray, Beaumont, Tonks L, Townley, Mackintosh, Sedgwick, Close, Lucas, Charge, May.

Report by: Richard Collins
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