Sevenoaks 8 vs. Dorking 6
After 80 minutes of attritional rugby played on a bitterly cold day with a biting wind, a hush fell over the Paddock for the final play of the day. Behind on the scoreboard, 5 - 6, Sevenoaks had been awarded a penalty and a last chance to win the game. Ben Adams went through his pre-kick routine, aided by Scott Sedgwick holding the ball steady as it was buffeted by the wind. As the Oak’s number 14 thumped a low, missile like kick between the posts the home team supporters, players and coaching staff erupted in celebration of the 8 – 6 victory. Their excellent four-point win keeps them 5th in the London & SE Premier table.
Having lost their two previous matches by the narrowest of margins, Oaks demonstrated determination and nerve to defeat Dorking, the unbeaten league leaders. It was never going to be pretty on a day when the wind made executing the most basic of skills a challenge, but the men from Kent deserved their win, having applied fierce commitment right to the final whistle and attempted to play a more expansive game than the visitors, who also deserve huge credit for their efforts on a challenging day.
The match began with the wind swirling but largely at the backs of the Blue and Golds, allowing them to edge territory in the first half. Early pressure and good backs play released Awa Morris on the right wing after 2 minutes, with a wonderful opportunity to exploit a two man overlap. Dorking scrambled well and cleared. After 4 minutes Shadyn Osgood then put in his own try saving tackle halting the away team. We would need to wait a long time before the try lines were threatened again by either side, with defences dominating in a game fiercely competed and sometimes niggly at the tackle and breakdown.
Oaks were able to use the wind effectively to set up good field position on several occasions, but with their lineout consistently disrupted by Dorking, momentum and scoring opportunities were difficult to establish. From one of these lineouts, Dorking broke up field and as Oaks defended aggressively, they were caught offside. The Dorking fly half slotted the penalty to lead 3 – 0 after 17 minutes. Two minutes later Oaks secured possession, spun the ball out wide, making another line break that saw the attacker bundled into touch when one more pass may have led to a try. In a game likely to be low scoring, the Oaks supporters wondered if the home team would live to regret missing two very good 7-point opportunities.
The next 20 minutes was played out with both teams competing ferociously at the tackle and breakdown areas; Oaks continuing to enter Dorking territory but the men from Surrey impressively disrupting at the lineout and scrum. Neither team threatened to breach their opponent’s excellent defences. In the 34th minute a normally kickable penalty goal attempt by Ben Adams was missed, illustrating the degree of difficulty in these windy conditions. The final few moments of the half saw the men from Surrey building momentum, forcing Oaks to infringe in their own half in the 37th and 40th minutes giving the visitors two penalties. Again, wind affected, both were unsuccessful, and the half time whistle blew with Dorking leading 3 – 0.
The pattern of the second half had Dorking dominating territory, with Oaks only entering their opponent’s half for the first time at 60 minutes. However, Oak’s defence was impressive, their scrum held strong under extreme pressure, and it was Dorking’s turn to have their lineout frequently disrupted. As a result, the home team only gave up points to a penalty kick after 53 minutes, as Dorking took a 6- 0 lead.
The result turned out to be shaped by three key phases in the final quarter. First, Oak’s centre Shadyn Osgood broke Dorking’s first line of defence in the 64th minute, leading to a grubber kick by Ollie Shirtcliff which ricochet into the path of Ben Adams who demonstrated his round ball skills to dribble 20 metres over the line for what would be the only try of the day. Reward for excellent resilience by the Oaks. The conversion from out wide into the teeth of the wind was virtually impossible and fell short. 6-5 to Dorking with 15 minutes remaining. Then came Dorking’s most dangerous try threat of the day when, following an Oak’s knock on, the number 10 kicked through and was tackled late by Shadyn Osgood who was rightly yellow carded. The ensuing catch and drive from the lineout was again repelled by great Oaks defence.
The final match defining phases of play saw Oaks win a penalty defending deep in their own 22, kick astutely up field and compete for every breakdown with what seemed another level of intensity. Despite Dorking stealing a lineout and trying to run down the clock, the away team were penalised for going off their feet on their own 10 metre line and again, from an Oaks line out, for pulling down the maul 25 metres out just left of the posts. With both teams knowing the penalty was the last play of the game, it was left to Ben Adams to secure the victory.
After the game Director of Rugby and Head Coach Adam Bowman said, “we are really pleased with both the result and our performance today. These were very difficult weather conditions, but the squad stayed in the game, dug deep, trusted our processes and showed huge character and desire to win the game against a well-coached Dorking side.
The Oaks next game is away to Tring.
Our ball technicians warming up!