Oaks captain Stuart Coleman receives the Ron Standen Cup from Pat Standen. Photo Credit: Steve Fitzmaurice
Dartfordians RFC 20 Sevenoaks Rugby 28
Sevenoaks Rugby 1st XV won 28-20 in a tussle with Dartfordians on Saturday. The match was played for the inaugural Ron Standen Trophy in honour of the legend that was Ron who spent time at both Clubs, his widow Pat presenting the Trophy to Oaks Captain Stu Coleman immediately after the game.
Grass roots rugby runs deep in Kent. The ebb and flow of League positions and bragging rights are set to the enduring backdrop of generations who have played in and coached for various Clubs’ colours; pioneers like Ron who blazed a trail for others to follow.
Ron’s legacy has done much to keep the friendly rivalries going and continues to grant Kent Rugby a healthy outlook, and it was a special scene as families from both sides mingled on the patio post match in front of the Clubhouse that Ron helped to build.
The match itself was highly competitive with Oaks never allowed to hit their stride by a Darts team that pressed hard throughout.
Oaks had to work hard to secure the bonus point win that keeps them one point off the top of an incredibly tight London 1 South.
Darts started strongest, making steady incursions into the Oaks half, and were duly rewarded with a penalty and a 3 point advantage. Ron would have been particularly proud of the Darts scrum which stayed tight and unified, to trouble Oaks at the set piece throughout the match.
Slowly the visitors found their rhythm and in between patches of indifferent play put enough phases together to score three first half tries. First McCrae plunged over after a well worked forward drive; Johnny Short then showed his wheels down the right wing and was prevented from going over by a neck tackle resulting in a penalty try, and Josh Thorneycroft timed his line to perfection to dash through under the posts. Oaks had a healthy 21-6 half time lead and seemed well set but Darts had other ideas and came out for the second half all guns blazing.
They battered the Oaks try line for the first ten minutes of the second half, with the navy and golds battling hard to keep their shape and hold their line. Having weathered this storm Oaks manoeuvred the ball upfield and kept possession for enough phases for Will de Smith to find the gap and go over for the fourth try. The bonus point was secured and so seemingly was the match but the home side kept playing and were duly rewarded by a brace of tries to bring the score line to 28-20; enough to give the travelling faithful a bit of a fright before time was called on proceedings.
Saturday 6 April sees Oaks go again. The navy and golds are in action at Knole Paddock for their final Home game of the season against Chichester. The match kicks off at 3:00pm and with Sevenoaks Rugby and three other Clubs all in promotion contention it promises to be highly entertaining and all support will be very welcome.