Gravesend (19) v (13) Dover 1st XV
Dover slipped two places in London 3 following a disappointing visit to Gravesend, whom Dover had not played competitively for some 30 years or so. Dover’s performance was certainly below par and Gravesend should take credit for keeping to their game plan for a deserved victory. The game was certainly not a spectacle to watch and any neutral spectator would have certainly left long before the final whistle had blown. With a large crowd in attendance this should have been an entertaining afternoon with two good sides being given the opportunity to play some half decent rugby. In fact it was totally the opposite with the presiding official literally blowing every two minutes which frustrated all and sundry and any chance of an open and fluid game was lost. Dover welcomed Trigger Davison home following service in Afghanistan and his presence will be a major bonus once he has had the opportunity of settling back into a normal life style.
Gravesend started strongly and took control in the first quarter. Two
penalty attempts from the G’s struck the upright and were cleared
by Dover. Dover responded well and took the game to G’s and Martyn
Beaumont slotted a penalty for Dover to take the lead.
The stop start
game frustrated Dover and the indiscipline, basic errors and mistakes
were plentiful. The influential Jimmy Byrne left the field early on
with a shoulder injury and Tom Landman came off the bench for his first
senior outing. He did well considering the difficulties that Dover
was encountering on the day. Dover strengthened their lead from a Gravesend
lineout. 
G’s won the ball and Kirk Savage intercepted a pass
on the try line to touch down which Beaumont converted from out wide.
Dover also applied pressure on a rolling maul of some 20 metres which
they failed to capitalise on. Ben Sedgwick went close in the corner
but some fine defence from the hosts kept the score line down. G’s
closed the half strongly and the outside half slotted a penalty in
the very last minute of the half.
The second half started badly for the Sharks and G’s took full
advantage with the outside half striking two penalties, one of which
Dover gifted by losing 10 metres. Although G’s kicked well tactically
Dover looked dangerous on the counter and there was some powerful running
from deep. G’s defence remained solid and the Sharks were unable
to penetrate the gap.
Martyn Beaumont slotted another penalty, however this was short lived
when Dover conceded a penalty on their 5 metre line. A cross kick from
G’s
was blatantly slapped into touch and from the resulting penalty G’s took
a quick tap and forced a touch down with a conversion to follow. The anti was
now up and Dover was struggling to deal with matters up front. The Sharks had
not built the platform for the backs to run the ball and the little they had
was dealt with by the hosts.
The half was littered with errors and Dover’s defence was way below its
normal standard. Dover did have one golden chance in the half when they were
camped close to the G’s line but they unfortunately failed to maximise
on the opportunity and all the good work was lost cheaply. G’s finished
the half as they had started and another penalty was kicked to kill the game.
Dover will be disappointed with this display. The passion and desire from too
many players was missing and some became embroiled by the influences of the
crowd, which ultimately affected their own performance. This game now needs
to be put behind them and lessons learned. Dover host league leaders Old Dunstonians
at Crabble next week Saturday.
Team; Lucas, Savage, Stanley, Robinson, Surendorff, Collins, Byrne, Davison, Murray, Beaumont, Tonks, Townley, Mackintosh, Sedgwick, Close, Hewer, Landman, Dean.
Report by: Richard Collins
pictures by Ian Shilson
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