Dorking made to work hard for their 100% record

Barnes started with the advantage of the slope; they got close to the opposition line but Dorking held out and soon got into the other half. Dorking's scrumhalf Crow made a break close to a breakdown to set up an attacking position. Later Dorking hacked-on and regained after an up-and-under from Barnes. The defence was penalised and a stretched-out Barnes was caught napping after the penalty was swiftly run and lock Roux got over for a rather soft try on 10 minutes. Later in the first quarter Henry charged down a Dorking kick and wing Williams levelled the scores. Just after the half-hour Dorking wing Jeffery ran 40 metres to the posts after a line-out avoiding several defenders. Frost added for the half-time lead of 4 points.

Now playing with the slope, strong forward effort got Dorking a penalty try at 51 minutes. Towards the end of the 3rd quarter wing Bevan rounded the defence after a very good cross kick. McIntyre added. For most of the second half Barnes had to defend and pressure caused them to lose a man for 10 minutes. Frost increased the lead to 7 points at 68 minutes. Dorking last try came with 5 minutes to go after Barnes had a line-out stolen 7 metres from their own line. Just before the end Dorking prevented Bevan from scoring near the corner.

For those with the time and patience a longer report follows -

The visitors kicked off with the advantage of the slope for the first half. This resulted in a line-out for Dorking from which fly-half Noble kicked over. Barnes' fullback Henry ran the ball and sent centre Wilde deep into the other half and over to the far side. The defence just got to a kick ahead first and got it into touch 5 metres from their goal line. Dorking held Barnes' drive from their line-out and got the next line-out, still close. A good touch kick after that got them well up field to the 4th line-out at which they held another drive to get the game's first scrum. Soon after that the visitors were penalised and the kick took Dorking to the first line-out in Barnes' half. Here they first tried wider ball and after 2 recycles scrumhalf Crow broke through close to the forwards into the 22. The defence got the put-in 17 metres out. A poor kick after that kept pressure on the visitors; Dorking recycled 3 times then kicked to touch 15 metres out then stole the line-out. They recycled 4 more times before the defence forced an error to get the put-in just outside their 22. From this scrum Barnes launched an up-and-under; Dorking hacked this ahead and regained the ball. After one recycle tight they made yards then recycled twice more before the Ref. went back to an earlier penalty 5 metres out. Barnes defence was stretched out and they were caught off-guard as lock Roux quickly ran the penalty and went over for a soft try after 10 minutes. The conversion missed.

The restart resulted in a put-in for the visitors. They kept the ball in to get a penalty that was kicked for a line-out 13 metres out. Dorking held the drive then forced a turnover when the ball was released from the drive; they cleared with a good touch-kick. From the line-out the visitors kept ball tight, recycling 3 times before being turned over. Dorking kicked to touch into the other half then from the line-out Barnes tried another up-and-under. Dorking dealt with this comfortably but were a bit slow with a kick which was charged down by Henry. Some chaos ensued and centre Williams got the ball down near the posts at 17 minutes. Fly-half McIntyre chose to convert with a drop-goal that Dorking charged down, depriving the visitors of 2 easy points. The try did make up for the opposition's earlier one. Three kicks followed the restart then Dorking kept ball in hand and got ball wide to advance down the touchline. Barnes forced them back at the breakdown then Dorking chipped through the line. The visitors replied with a long kick for territory. Dorking got the ball at their 22 and went further back with it behind their own line to get space to kick ahead. After Barnes got the ball Dorking were penalised for an inappropriate tackle and marched 10 metres further back and McIntyre kicked the points to give the visitors the lead after 21 minutes. Barnes secured the restart then kicked but this bounced on the line and resulted in a line-out back for the opposition. From this Dorking released to centre then recycled 3 times before the Ref. gave a penalty for an earlier infringement and fullback Frost levelled the scores after 23 minutes from 17 metres inside the visitors' half. The restart resulted in a put-in for Barnes at which they created some pressure to get a penalty and McIntyre took the points for the lead again with a similar kick to Frost's within 2 minutes of the restart.

Dorking were penalised at the catch of the restart and the kick took the visitors to a line-out 12 metres into the other half. Dorking replied to an up-and-under with a longer kick and the visitors cleared to touch 9 metres inside their own half. From this line-out wing Jeffery ran in close to the forwards and Crow fed him on the burst with a well-timed pass and he seemed to avoid all defenders easily to go to the posts just after the half hour. Frost added. Three kicks followed the restart then Dorking forced a turnover near halfway and made a break at centre. Frost chipped over and Barnes had to kick from their goal line; Dorking came back with ball in hand close to the line then the defence forced an error and kicked to clear. The result was their line-out 28 metres out. Barnes tried another up-and-under; Dorking kept ball in hand through several phases getting to 7 metres out before the defence got a put-in. Barnes kicked from their scrum but not far; Dorking ran then chipped. Barnes dealt with this but were penalised soon after and Frost missed a difficult kick before the halftime whistle.

Dorking would now have the advantageous slope; the visitors secured the second half restart. They launched an up-and-under and regained before being turned over. Dorking soon kicked and Barnes cleared to touch not far inside their own half. Dorking soon passed forward under pressure then after the scrum the visitors kicked out on the full. Dorking threw their line-out long and the opposition came away with the ball. They tried wide ball and were almost intercepted. Barnes got a scrum put-in but were now under pressure in these. An error at a back row pick-up gave Dorking a put-in and from this they recycled close through several phases including a good driving maul until the defence got the put-in 8 metres out. The visitors cleared to touch at their 22. From the line-out, Dorking's pack set for a drive; this was 7 minutes into the half and a small scuffle broke out. This resulted in a scrum to Dorking at the 22 from which they recycled close several times but were turned over after having released to a centre who got isolated. Barnes kicked ahead then a couple of Dorking forwards ran the ball back to get a penalty 7 metres out. Dorking opted for a scrum. Soon after the Ref. awarded a penalty try after 11 minutes. That was immediately followed by some confrontations without the ball; Frost added. Dorking secured the restart and soon kicked long. Henry fielded this, ran then chipped over and hacked the ball on; the result was a Barnes' line-out 14 metres from the opposition line. Dorking stole the line-out and cleared to touch just outside their 22. Barnes varied their options with ball in hand then chipped laterally for wing Bevan to run onto and score his team's second try on 18 minutes. McIntyre added.

The visitors didn't deal with the restart and the opposition got the ball. A drop-goal was attempted; it hit a post and stayed out. Barnes cleared to touch at their 22. Dorking's pack set for a drive and made yards then another drop-goal was tried. This also missed but the Ref. had awarded a penalty previously. Dorking chose a scrum and got another penalty in that. Barnes lost a man for 10 minutes. Again a scrum was chosen and after it was reset Barnes stole it against the head. They got the ball away with a high kick; Dorking ran it back then Barnes dealt with a chip-through and responded with an up-and-under that got them a penalty at halfway. The touch kick took the visitors to 10 metres out after which they were forced into touch at the same place. They stole this line-out but were soon turned over; this was the third time Barnes had got close and had been prevented from scoring. Much kicking followed before Dorking got a penalty 9 metres inside their half. This was kicked for a line-out 26 metres from their opponents' line. After that they soon passed forward then from the scrum the visitors broke blind before kicking out on the full. From this line-out, 12 metres into the opposition half, Dorking recycled several times to get a penalty 6 metres ahead in centre field and Frost took the points at 28 minutes. Dorking returned the restart with an up-and-under and soon forced an error from the visitors; advantage was played and Dorking advanced to get another penalty well into the opposition half. They kicked this for a line-out into the 22. Their drive was held and they released and chipped to touch 7 metres out. Barnes had the line-out stolen; Dorking kept ball tight to get a put-in 6 metres out and kept the ball in the scrum to go to the line for no.8 Lucas to claim the try after 35 minutes. There was another scuffle before Frost added the conversion. The visitors got a loose ball from the restart; there was some arm waving before Barnes' put-in 17 metres into the opposition half. From the scrum McIntyre had a run and after 2 close recycles Barnes got ball wide to Bevan who almost got to the corner but was denied by the last defender. There was just time for more handbags before the whistle. Before this game Dorking had won all 8 of their games and Barnes had lost 7 out of 9. Dorking expected an easier win and their frustration was much in evidence in the second half.

No wind, pitch soft and very wet but the rain held off during the game.