U13 Season 2003/2004

 

 

U13 Surrey League
Esher	Home	Lost	12	14
Chipstead	Home	Won	29	8
Camberley	Away	Won	36	5
Old Reigatians	Home	Won	32	0
KCS	Away	Won	40	0
London Irish (Quarter-Final)	Away	Lost	0	31
Played 6 Won 4 Drawn 0 Lost 2			149	58
Squad Friendlies
Warlingham	Home	Won	19	17
Effingham	Home	Won	39	15
Horsham	Home	Won	33	5
Haslemere	Home	Won	36	0
Twickenham	Home	Won	27	7
Jersey (Dorking U13 Festival)	Home	Won	12	0
Sutton & Epsom (Dorking U13 Festival)	Home	Won	22	7
Camp Hill (Dorking U13 Festival)	Home	Won	12	0
Chobham	Home	Won	29	10
Eastbourne	Home	Won	54	5
Colchester (Tour)	Away	Won	20	12
Burnham-on-Crouch (Tour)	Away	Won	93	7
Played 12 Won 12 Drawn 0 Lost 0			396	85
Twickenham Festival
Richmond	Away	Drew	15	15
Twickenham	Away	Lost	0	5
Sutton & Epsom	Away	Drew	10	10
Old Fullerians	Away	Won	35	0
Twickenham (Semi-Final)	Away	Lost	5	10
Played 5 Won 1 Drawn2 Lost 2			65	40
			610	183

      Colchester 12 Dorking 20

After three years of gruelling overseas tours we decided not to venture too far this time, with matches at Colchester on Saturday and Burnham on Sunday.

Colchester RFC have excellent facilities with pitches in fantastic condition. The boys were to play on the 1st XV pitch in front of the clubhouse and were really up for it having had a comparatively early night by tour standards the previous evening.

Dorking went straight for it right from the kick-off and all of the early pressure was from the tourists. You could tell though that Colchester, who were well organised and well drilled with a large mobile pack and big fast backs, were a very good side and sure enough, after Dorking failed to capitalise on their early pressure, the home side gradually forced their way back into the game.

The match was evenly balanced for the next ten minutes before the home side broke the deadlock with a well executed long range try which was touched down under the posts and duly converted. 7-0.

The game continued to fluctuate as two fine evenly matched sides slugged it out. With half-time approaching, following some concerted Dorking pressure, the ball was moved quickly down the back-line and who should appear on the outside again but captain and flanker Will Randall who squeezed over by the corner flag for a trademark overlap try out wide. Half-time 7-5.

Dorking secured the ball from Colchester 's restart kick and after a couple of passages of play, which failed to break down the home side's defence, fly-half Fraser Macdonald thumped one up field. A wicked bounce in our favour completely wrong-footed two defenders and Matt Gunasekera secured the ball and sprinted in from 20 metres out. 7-10.

You could see our boys grow in confidence and self-belief and for the next few minutes took control of the game, keeping the ball tight and denying the opposition space for their strong runners. Another flowing move down the backs saw the ball reach right-winger for the day Ben Collis about 30 metres out. Ben tried to run round the outside but as he was closed down by two defenders he switched back inside and scythed through the defence for an excellent and well deserved first try for the club. The way Ben was mobbed by his team-mates showed how important the try was in the context of the match and how pleased everyone was for him. The exaggerated celebratory dive by Ben himself showed how much it meant to him. 7-15.

The match though was nowhere near safe yet as there were still over 15 minutes to play. Colchester should have pulled a try back when they crossed our line out wide but in their endeavours to run the ball under the posts their player was tackled and was unable to ground the ball properly.  This may have been the defining moment in the match although Colchester did manage to atone for their error by scoring not long afterwards following another flowing move. 12-15 and anyone’s game. 

The last few minutes though saw Dorking at their imperious best, not allowing Colchester the opportunity to seriously threaten again by ensuring that play was confined to the opposition half. From a short penalty the ball was again moved impressively down the line to left-winger Greg Watson. It looked like Greg would get there himself but was brilliantly tackled a metre short, but as he was grounded he turned and popped the ball up to outside-centre James Gaymer who was following up in support. All James had to do was to fall over the try line for the clinching score. 12-20.

So, an excellent victory against a very good side. Well played everybody and thank you Colchester. Last but not least thank you to the ref who we all thought was absolutely superb.

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Burnham 7 Dorking 93

All credit to Burnham for hosting us knowing we would probably be much stronger than them, given their stop-start season. They are a big set of lads and undoubtedly talented but they just need a bit more time and coaching. The scoreline does not necessarily give them credit anyway as the one try they scored was one of the best of the match, both halves considerably over-ran and their boys never stopped trying.

Burnham kicked-off, the ball bounced and was somehow caught one-handed by Will Randall who then took off and raced though the entire opposition to score on the first play of the game. When George Evans scored soon afterwards and we were 14-0 up with less than 3 minutes on the clock we hoped it wouldn’t be a total mismatch, as that never benefits either side. It was therefore great to see Burnham then score an excellent solo try immediately afterwards which was duly converted.

Dorking however proceeded to score six more tries in the first half that rather mysteriously lasted for 40 minutes, which obviously exaggerated the scoreline. Matt Gunasekera scored a fantastic hat-trick, Will Crow two and Jamie Phelan, who arrived hot foot from the school cricket pitch the previous evening, also got on the scoresheet, so half-time reached and a score of 50-7.

The second half (which also mysteriously lasted 30 minutes) is where it all started to go wrong for yours truly whose limitations as a touchline correspondent were finally cruelly exposed. Firstly the lead broke in my pencil and after the excesses of the previous two evenings it became rather hard for me to keep count and remember everything that happened.

Anyway the ref told me it was 93 points, I can remember Will Crow scoring two more making it four for him in the match in total, Will Randall and George Evans both scoring their second tries of the match, Ben Collis scoring his second try of the weekend and Nick Haigh picking up at No 8 and going over. By my calculations I therefore lost one try-scorer somewhere so apologies for that. Jamie Phelan, with his try and with nine successful conversions, top scored with 23 points.

So, obviously our highest ever score and another part of the boys learning curve in learning to win matches graciously as well as learning to lose magnanimously when it happens the other way. I think they handled it correctly this time and I hope Burnham thought they did as well.

Anyway, Burnham in general and Warwick and Roger in particular were absolutely wonderful hosts and the tour was rounded off in the best possible fashion, relaxing in a clubhouse bar watching Harlequins defeat Connaught and Wasps defeat Munster in one of the best matches I have ever seen.

So, that's four years and four tours since we joined the club, and still unbeaten in a dozen plus tour matches. A record the boys should be proud of.

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Twickenham Youth Festival

The U13s performed with great credit at the select Twickenham Youth Festival on Sunday eventually only losing in the semi-finals to a last play try by the hosts.

Again we were very short on numbers with only 18 turning up which made it tough for the coaches to rotate as much as they would have liked given the number of matches and the bad weather on the day.  Some of the unavailable boys included Ed Thomas, Dan Hudson, James Hislop, and Ben Collis plus long term casualties Callum Bennett and Fergus Andrew. Fly-half Fraser Macdonald was also not well on the day (a bit like his father but for different reasons) so could only play a limited amount.

None of this however should detract from any of our opponents who I am sure were also all suffering similar shortages due to the Easter holidays

The opposition was very tough and arguably any one of the competing sides could have won on the day as all were evenly matched and a lot of the games were very close and could have gone either way

First up were Richmond who we had never beaten before. We had looked to put that to rights when we raced to a 10-0 half-time lead with tries from Matt Gunasekera and Nick Haigh. Richmond must have had a serious half-time talking to because they came flying out of the traps in the second-half and we found ourselves 15-10 with not long to go. James Tapson however saved the day with an equalising try. Score 15-15.

Next up were the hosts. Much nearer to full strength than when we beat them quite easily a few weeks ago they looked a different side this time. Dorking however held them well, both sides cancelling each other out and limiting the number of scoring opportunities. Dorking were pressing hard at the death on the opposition 10 metre line when a clearance upfield and a wicked bounce caused confusion in the defence which led to a winning length of the pitch try from Twickenham with the last play of the game. Score 0-5.

The next game was against Sutton & Epsom who we beat for the first time quite comfortably a few weeks ago. Again they were much stronger this time and raced into a 10-0 lead. Nick Haigh pulled one back right on the stroke of half-time and Matt Gunasekera came to the rescue with a second-half equaliser. Score 10-10.

Our final pool game was against Fullerians who brought a big squad with them and must have played a lot of their non-A players against us because we recorded a comfortable victory in a very good all round perfomance. Try scorers were Nick Haigh (2), Greg Watson (2), Jamie Phelan, Matt Gunasekera and Alex Holmes. Score 35-0.

That qualified us for the semi-finals and a rematch against the hosts. Again both sides were very evenly matched and cancelling each other out although Dorking perhaps had the upper hand in the forwards with Twickenham having more pace out wide. Scoreless at half-time led us to try and work out what would happen if it was still a draw at the end, Twickenham however then scored early in the second-half. Dorking fought back and from a five metre scrum scrum-half Will Crow feinted to go right leaving Nick Haigh to pick up at the base to go over on the blind side. Lightning then did unfortunately strike twice when, after the referee called last play, Twickenham ran in a long distance try wide out on the right to seal victory. Score 5-10.

So, all in all, a very enjoyable day despite the weather. Twickenham players. coaches and parents alike are all a really nice bunch at our age group and there was a real friendly and relaxed atmosphere about the whole event.  The competition was tough but that was exactly what we wanted. As I have said before when we you play the better quality sides it enables coaches to more easily confirm strengths and identify weaknesses and we certainly left with a few things to think about in the close season and to work on when we all return in September.

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Dorking 54 Eastbourne 5

The boys, beaten only once since November having won 13 of their last 14 games, recorded a comfortable victory over Eastbourne at the Big Field on Sunday. The boys ran in eight tries in total but if truth be told could have scored several more with better decision making.

Again we only had 16 boys turn up and those included Matt Palmese from the U12s and debutant Harry Vaughan, Matt getting the call because both of our hookers were unavailable. As a result of our lack of numbers we had to play a few of the boys out of position, the most notable being Jamie Phelan moving from full-back to fly-half.

The team therefore comprised of a number of boys who missed out on the majority of our league matches this season but this gave the coaches plenty of opportunity to evaluate their progress in match conditions.

Greg Watson opened the scoring, touching down out wide after the ball was moved down the backs following a successful ruck. Greg's direct running was to subsequently cause the opposition problems all game.

Skipper Will Randall then got in on the act scoring the next two, both times from wide out on the right,  having looped round the backs. Both times Will had to get past two or three opponents but good hand-offs enabled him to break through the defence each time.

After last week's virtuoso performance George Evans only managed one this time but also came close on several other occasions. Nick Haigh, who dominated the line-outs all game receiving quality ball from George Evans' throw-ins, also scored his customary try.

The other three tries saw Ed Thomas and Jack Greenway both get belated but well deserved first tries of the season and Harry Vaughan at outside-centre on his debut having the confidence to finish off a backs move ignoring the three man overlap outside him.

Jamie Phelan had a superb day with the boot, successful with seven out of eight kicks, two or three of them from way out wide. All round, Jamie had a great game today, orchestrating play from fly half. He has been a revelation the last few weeks, mainly down to an increasing self-belief in his own ability.

The boys direct straight running was also impressive today, most notably in the pack with Alex Holmes, Tom Garbett and Ben Collis all showing up prominently and making strong breaks. All of the boys however still need to learn to be more aware of the support runners and also need to improve their decision making when running with the ball, but these are minor issues considering how much they have improved during the season.

To ensure everyone gets a mention this time round Will Crow, James Gaymer, Arif Dogansoy and Ben May all also had solid games in a very strong classy all-round performance.

Eastbourne never gave-up and scored a well executed consolation try. We are grateful to their players, coaches and parents for making the effort to travel all of the way up to us, they were all a superb credit to their club and we wish them well for the future.

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Dorking 29 Chobham 10

An overused cliché I know but if ever a rugby match was a game of two halves then this was it (well, maybe for the third time this season).

Only 15 had turned up come kick-off (although another couple arrived later) which was a bit disappointing given the size of our squad these days, so a little bit of creative thinking was required by the coaches to work out who could fit in where. Parents/boys please note (again) - you really should notify us in advance if you're not going to be there.

None of this however should detract from Chobham who totally dominated the first half. They won scrums against the head, were strong in the rucks and mauls and continually drove Dorking back.

When they chose to move the ball their fly half controlled the game, releasing the backs to good advantage, causing the home side all sorts of problems down the flanks. Two unconverted tries scored out wide were scant reward for Chobham's first-half performance.

To be fair the boys haven't needed many half time wake-up calls this season but today was one of those occasions. Some strong words from the coaches but more importantly a couple of subtle tactical changes, with George Evans moving from prop to blind-side and Greg Watson moving into the centre from the wing, made all the difference in the second-half as the side had a much better shape as a result.

The slope on the pitch again played a part, with Will Randall winning the toss and electing to play up the slope in the first half. This ultimately proved decisive as the opposition were pushed back after half-time and started to tire playing up the slope as Dorking reverted back to their running game continually stretching the opposition as they moved the ball left and right.

The home side looked to have pulled a try back five minutes into the second half when Nick Haigh crossed the try-line only to knock-on when tackled by a persistent defender, while trying to run round under the posts. Nick however immediately atoned when an 8 man push from the pack won the resulting 5 metre scrum against the head, allowing Nick to pick up and dive over

What followed became the George Evans show. Quiet by his own standards in recent weeks George exploded into life and scored the other four tries, with his trademark surging runs, hand-offs and all round strength proving too much for the opposition to handle. When in this mood George is awesome and pretty much unstoppable.

Dorking arguably could have scored even more tries in the second-half, Will Randall being denied by the ref when it looked like he had touched down and the boys held up by a resolute defence on other occasions. This would however have given a totally unfair look to the scoreline given Chobham's contribution to the game, especially in the first half.

The match finished with Dorking pretty much in total control after yet another barnstorming second-half performance. The opposition however never gave up for one second, their spirit and enthusiasm a credit to their coaches and to the club. I do hope that we can find a slot to play them again next season.

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U13 Youth Festival      (Letters of thanks)

The club hosted it's inaugural U13 Festival at the Big Field on Sunday with visiting touring sides from Jersey RFC (Channel Islands) and Camp Hill RFC (West Midlands) as well as old friends and rivals from Sutton & Epsom RFC

The format of the festival was round-robin with each side playing each other once. All matches were keenly and closely contested with Dorking U13s continuing their highly impressive season by winning all three of their games. First up were Jersey who were defeated by 12-0, followed by Sutton & Epsom by 22-7 and finally Camp Hill by 12-0. So, eight tries scored in total by the home side and only one conceded.

Dorking's tries over the three games were scored by Matt Gunasekera, Daniel Hudson, Nick Haigh, Will Randall and Will Crow. Special mention however must also be made of full-back Jamie Phelan whose rock solid defence and strong tackling together with his Jason Robinson like counter-attacking caused problems for opposition sides all day.

Dorking continually rotated their squad of 25 throughout the day, a delighted Head Coach Geoff Macdonald commenting "Yet again I am very proud of the boys' commitment and attitude. There is a great camaraderie about the squad and this has been reflected in their impressive performances and results throughout the season and which also augurs well for next season.  All of the boys are a credit to the club, to their parents and to themselves".

Festivities were rounded off with a Baa-Baa's match when Dorking took on a select Sutton & Epsom/Camp Hill/Jersey XV. In a thoroughly entertaining high scoring game Dorking eventually emerged as victors but in a fitting climax to the day representatives from each of the three visiting sides all got their names on the scoresheet. Well played everybody.

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Dorking 27 Twickenham 7

Another highly impressive all-round performance from the U13s led to an ultimately comfortable victory over a well-touted Twickenham side in the wind and rain at the Big Field on Sunday.

Both sides were missing key players but the home side's new found strength in depth proved the difference as most of the squad players given a run-out put in noteworthy performances.

With Head Coach Geoff Macdonald away on the piste (again) Chairman Jim, ably supported by Roger and Peter, astutely rotated all of the 25 players who were available, so everyone was given an opportunity to impress.

The first 15 minutes was even, Matt Gunasekera prominent as usual putting in some big tackles. However once Dorking introduced Nick Haigh and Will Randall the home side started to assert and from then on there was really only one side in it territorially.

Recent recruit Dan Hudson was given a run-out at No 8 and his clever pick-up and go on the blind side from the base of the scrum opened the scoring (5-0). Intense pressure from Dorking then followed and they really should have added to the try count before half-time but for one reason or another failed to do so. Twickenham commendably continued to try and run the ball from deep trying to utilise their backs but this played to Dorking's strengths with Matt Gunasekera and Will Randall quickly closing down the opposition fly-half and centres, not allowing them any space at all to move the ball.

Dorking again went straight on the offensive at the start of the second-half. Hooker George Spreckley, whose line-out throwing was solid all afternoon given the windy conditions, was also starting to win scrums against the head and from one such play Nick Haigh picked up and burst clear to score under the posts. (12-0). Soon afterwards more pressure resulted in fly-half Fraser Macdonald scoring a lovely solo try, jinking through and then breaking clear by wrong footing the entire defence with a clever side-step (17-0).

Twickenham then enjoyed their best period of pressure and were rewarded for their efforts when a penalty try was awarded for a high tackle. In true Arsene Wenger style your touchline reporter did not see the incident so cannot comment although general touchline concensus from those near the incident seemed to be that it was a fair tackle (17-7).

Another try from the opponents at this stage would have made it interesting but Dorking just upped it a notch and completely dominated the final 15 minutes. Given the rapidly deteriorating conditions the home side's ball handling, particularly in the backs, was absolutely superb and a joy to watch with unforced errors hardly anywhere to be seen.

Nick Haigh scored his second try, a replica of his first, bursting through and outsprinting a tiring defence (22-7) but it was the last try that will be remembered as the best of the bunch.

Twickenham, again under pressure, for once chose to kick and full-back Jamie Phelan scrambled back to retrieve on the halfway line near the touchline. Jamie turned then took off on a diagonal run, scything through the opposition and burst into space. George Spreckley popped up alongside in support to take the pass from Jamie and then offloaded to scrum-half Will Crow to finish off a glorious move in the opposite corner (27-7)

Twickenham finished on Dorking's line but by then the game was way out of their reach. The match was played in good spirit, Twickenham more than playing their part in what was an excellent advert for U13 rugby given the conditions. We already have a fixture arranged for next season and we look forward to renewing acquaintances and playing them again when hopefully both sides will be at full strength.

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London Irish 31 Dorking 0

Despite eventually losing by five tries to nil the U13s put up a terrific battling performance in the County Quarter-Final away to the reigning County Champions.

The scoreline does not necessarily reflect the balance of the game as Dorking enjoyed a lot of territorial advantage, especially in the second half, and only superb defending by Irish prevented the boys deservedly getting on the scoresheet at least once. Indeed four of the five opposition tries were long range efforts from inside their own half from their huge No 8 and one of their flying wingers.

Irish scored in the corner after only a couple of minutes and the omens didn’t look good, Dorking missed a kickable penalty soon afterwards but although the rest of the first period was spent mainly in Dorking's half the boys looked like holding out at only 5-0, until the last play of the half saw the Irish No 8 get on the scoresheet to make it 12-0 at the break.

The boys enjoyed a great deal of possession after the break with the opposition spending a lot of time on the back foot, Nick Haigh particularly prominent with some sniping runs. The opposition were regularly penalised for infringing but Dorking's execution of the short penalties was generally poor and the boys were therefore unable to take advantage leaving Irish to run in three more long-range tries to run out worthy winners.

Dorking can take many positives out of this game, our line-out was superb all match, continually winning on our own throws and succeeding in messing up the quality of the opposition ball. Our rucking and play around the fringes was also excellent, the Irish forwards coach conceding that his side were out-rucked all game.

The Irish Head Coach also complimented our boys, saying that we were the best side they had faced this season, in fact the only side to have given them a serious game. Thirty one points may sound a lot but amazingly it is the least amount of points that Irish have scored in any game this year, having regularly clocked up 80, 90, 100 points plus per game.

Dorking Head Coach Geoff Macdonald commented "I was extremely proud of the boys effort and commitment. Not only are Irish outstanding County Champions but one of the top sides in the South East of England, if not the country. We more than matched them man for man apart from their No 8 and their winger which shows just how much we have improved. It augurs well for the rest of this season and next as we continue to build on our progress. Playing quality opposition enables you to more easily identify areas for improvement and we have a couple of things that we need to go away and work on".

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Dorking 32 Old Reigatians 0

The U13s excellent season continued with a comfortable six tries to nil demolition of local rivals Old Reigatians in a league match on Sunday.

Head Coach Geoff Macdonald, already missing David Nickerson and Tom Garbett in the pack, was hit by late withdrawals by Ben May and Fergus Andrew through injury. James Tapson was therefore drafted in on the blindside and Greg Watson and James Hislop were given the nod on the wings.

Dorking won the toss and elected to play up the slight slope, the tactics being to contain the opposition in the first half before stepping up the pressure after the break. If there were any doubts that Dorking were not up for the match these were immediately dispelled when the kick-off was caught by Alex Holmes who ran full tilt straight back into the heart of the opposition to gain some early hard yards. Alex was immediately supported by the rest of the Dorking pack who piled in to set up a successful ruck.

From then on most of the play was in the opposition half and there was only five minutes on the clock when Dorking were awarded a penalty near the half way line. The boys decided to run the ball, working it down the backs to fullback Jamie Phelan who had joined the line on the outside to create the overlap. Jamie ran in unopposed from 20 metres out to go over in the corner.

The pattern was now set with all the pressure and territorial play coming from the home side. After fifteen minutes another penalty some way out saw Dorking again running the ball and this time Jamie was the provider, setting up Nick Haigh to force his way over out wide.

Dorking's tackling was immense, not allowing the opposition any breathing space at all and after a further period of pressure some fine interplay amongst the backs out on the right led to Greg Watson scoring for the second successive week. So 15-0 up at half time and with the slope to come in the second half the boys knew that most of the hard work had already been done.

They were however not able to sustain the same level of fluency in the second half and the match became scrappy and niggly with both sides conceding a spate of penalties. As in previous games Dorking were regularly penalised around the fringes and this is an area that needs tightening up.

The half also saw three further unanswered tries. The first saw them win line-out ball near the opposition line and a drive from the pack gave hooker George Spreckley the chance to peel off and touch down, continuing his impressive try-scoring ratio.

The last two tries were absolute beauties. An opportunist fly-hack from Dorking's own 20 metre line was chased and collected by Will Randall on the half-way line. With four defenders in hot pursuit and within touching distance Will took off down the wing and stormed over for a wonderful solo try in the corner, getting a very painful kick in the ribs from a frustrated opponent for his troubles. The try maintains Will's record of having scored in every league match so far.

The sixth and final try came with the last play of the game and was a rehearsed move. Dorking were awarded a penalty 10 metres out and fooled the opposition into thinking it would be a forward play. Will Crow however threw a long pass out to Fraser Macdonald who in turn fed Matt Gunasekera. Matty had been well-marshalled by the opposition midfield throughout the match but was not to be denied this time, going over under the posts for his customary try.

So, another clean sheet and if the truth be told the opposition got nowhere our try line all match. One or two of the boys had truly outstanding games today but each and every one played very well. One more league match against KCS in two weeks and a victory there should guarantee Dorking's place in the Surrey quarter-finals and an unexpected position in the elite league next season.

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Dorking 36 Haslemere 0

The U13s continued their impressive recent run of superb form with a comprehensive defeat of Haslemere on Sunday. This was the boys fifth successive wide-margin victory, having now amassed over 173 points in the process and conceding only 33.

With a couple of important league matches looming Head Coach Geoff Macdonald continually rotated the team, playing a total of 24 boys over the course of the match with all the squad players contributing in a fine all-round display.

The first quarter showed little sign of what was to follow as both sides enjoyed periods of possession without threatening to score. The match however burst into life midway through the first half when Dorking counter-attacked from deep inside their own half. Fly-half Fraser Macdonald found himself in a bit of space and weighted a beautiful pass out to winger Greg Watson who took off and raced over from fully 70 metres out for a superb try, a well-deserved first for the club.

Dorking now started to dominate and it was not long before they scored again. This time it was inside centre Matt Gunasekera who collected a pass near the half way line and sprinted away to score unchallenged under the posts for another super individual try.

The Dorking pack continued to get the better of their opponents with hooker George Spreckley winning scrums against the head. It was Spreckley himself who scored the third try just before half-time after a strong Dorking drive had taken them towards the opposition line, Spreckley finishing off the move in fine style. Dorking therefore turned round at half-time 17-0 in front.

The second half saw continued Dorking dominance with only the occasional attack from a spirited opposition. The very talented opposition fly-half tried to exploit the strong wind by kicking at every opportunity but continual superb positional play from Dorking full-back Jamie Phelan saw him collect the majority of kicks allowing him time to clear the ball to safety or to counter-attack.

Matt Gunasekera scored two more great tries to complete a superb hat-trick. His second and third tries were similar to the first and which are fast becoming his trademark with him collecting passes some way out and his searing pace allowing him to outsprint a tiring defence to touch down under the posts.

In between those two tries outside centre James Gaymer also scored a well-deserved try. Flanker Will Randall joined the backs to create the overlap, drew the full-back and offloaded to Gaymer who ran in unopposed in the corner.

With so many boys in the squad playing well Head Coach Geoff Macdonald has a major selection headache going into an important League match against local rivals Old Reigatians next Sunday.

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Camberley 5 Dorking 36

The U13 league match away to Camberley was abandoned midway through the second-half when a Camberley player suffered a shoulder injury and could not immediately be moved from the pitch. As Dorking were comfortably ahead at the time both coaches graciously agreed to end the contest there and then so that the injured player could receive full attention from the home side's coaching staff.

I'm sure we were not the only side to be missing players the Sunday immediately before Christmas but it does seem a strange date to schedule league matches. With Matt Gunasekera and James Hislop absent we were light in the backs, Greg Watson and Arif Dogansoy stepping in with Ben May getting a run on the right wing. Tom Garbett was also a late withdrawal in the pack.

Camberley are a big side, none more so than one of their centres so with Matt out we knew that their centre would pose their biggest threat.

Dorking kicked off in a very strong wind and the early play was all in the opposition half. Only a couple of minutes had passed when the ball was spun wide down the backs to left wing Arif Dogansoy who scooted over unchallenged in the corner. After another three or four minutes or so and again with all the play in Camberley's half some strong forward play ended up with hooker George Spreckley touching down.

Any thoughts Dorking may have had of a straightforward victory were immediately dispelled when almost inevitably the big Camberley centre got up a head of steam inside his own half and forced his way through several half-hearted tackles to touch down under the posts, although Camberley failed to convert.

A nervous five minutes then followed while Dorking regrouped as Camberley threw the ball to their centre at every opportunity. However Dorking were soon back in control and more pressure from the visitors ended with Nick Haigh ripping the ball out of a maul and touching down under the posts, fly-half Fraser Macdonald converting. Soon afterwards an almost identical scenario saw Nick again ripping the ball from the opposition and touching down under the posts, Fraser again converting

The ref then mysteriously blew for half-time with, by general consensus, at least five minutes still to go in the half and Dorking leading 24-5.

The shortened second-half was pretty uneventful apart from more Dorking pressure resulting in two further tries. The first saw Nick Haigh complete a well-deserved hat-trick, again following good play from the forwards and the second saw flanker Will Randall maintain his record of scoring in each league match so far, popping up in the backs and going over under the posts. Fraser converted one and hit the post with the other.

With Dorking comfortably in control when the match was abandoned, it may have been a missed opportunity for us to rack up some more points and improve our points difference. That may well prove costly to us given the tightness of the league where the top four or five positions look like being decided on points difference, but the welfare of the players is paramount and the over-riding priority. I am pleased to report that subsequent enquiries confirmed that the injury sustained was only bruising and not a fracture or dislocation.

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Dorking 33 Horsham 5

The U13's secured a comfortable victory over local rivals Horsham in a friendly at the Big Field on Sunday.

With some important league matches coming up Head Coach Geoff Macdonald started with a side comprising mainly of new players and non-A team players to see which ones were pushing for a first team place.

The opening 15 minutes saw most of the play in the visitors' half but the first time that Horsham got anywhere near the Dorking line they scored a try wide out on the right.

This led Macdonald to start rotating his players and introducing some of his more established boys. Their experience immediately started to turn the game round with Dorking running in three tries in a fifteen-minute period. Three of the old guard, prop George Evans, centre James Gaymer and hooker George Spreckley were the try scorers.

Now with a comfortable lead the home side were able to dictate although Horsham continued to compete enthusiastically and on the occasional foray into the hosts' half still looked threatening and capable of scoring.

Dorking however stretched away again in the final quarter as the opposition began to tire. Second-row James Tapson scored his first try for the club showing good pace and balance to side-step a couple of tackles. With the last play of the match James Gaymer scored his second try of the day with a rehearsed move that was executed perfectly, receiving the ball at pace from scrumhalf Will Crow and crashing over, Mike Tindall style.

Fly half Fraser Macdonald had a good day with the boot, being successful with four out of five conversion attempts.

Although a comfortable victory was secured the match left the coaches with a couple of things to work on and tighten up on in advance of the next league game against Camberley next week. Dorking conceded a spate of penalties, mostly through lack of discipline around the fringes and on too many occasions boys tried to take on the opposition single-handedly and not turning and looking for the support runners.

Well played to Horsham though, it is always a pleasure to welcome them and their boys were a credit to their club with their spirit and enthusiasm.

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Dorking 29 Chipstead 8

The U13's secured an excellent victory over old rivals Chipstead in a League match at the Big Field on Sunday.

Although Chipstead had some players missing through injury and illness, most notably their two centres, we knew they would still be formidable opponents. Dorking had never beaten them previously and had suffered a loss to them in a friendly earlier in the season.

Dorking Head Coach Geoff Macdonald also had some absentees in the pack, namely Callum Bennett, David Nickerson and Ed Thomas plus Greg Watson was not available in the backs. Macdonald however was still able to put out a strong looking side, which showed how the squad has grown this season.

Chipstead won the the toss and chose to kick down the slope and with the wind in the first half, no doubt hoping that they could build a winning lead by half time. To Chipstead's credit most of the first half action was played in Dorking's half but Dorking looked to have done well to restrict the visitors to a single penalty score until, right on the stroke of half time, the Chipstead No 8 broke clear to score a fine individual effort.

Turning 0-8 down we knew that the next score would be crucial but we didn't know whether Dorking would be able to exploit the slope and the wind.  The boys answered both questions almost immediately when the ball was passed slickly down the back-line to flanker Will Randall who had looped round the backs to pop up on the wing to create the overlap. Unlike Ben Kay he held on to the final pass from right wing James Hislop, handed-off the opposition full-back and stormed over from 30 metres out. Full-back Jamie Phelan converted superbly from out wide.

Now within a point and with plenty of time still to go Dorking grew in confidence and surged forward. A maul near Chipstead's line saw untidy ball squirt out the back of the opponents pack, Dorking scrum half Will Crow was the first to react, pouncing on the loose ball for the try to put the home side in front.

Pressing forward again from the restart Dorking were awarded a penalty ten metres from their opponents line. With everyone expecting a play involving the forwards Will Crow hurled a huge pass out to the backs, a couple of passes later and Dorking suddenly had a three man overlap. Right wing James Hislop didn't need Will Randall and Jamie Phelan outside him and ran in for a well deserved first try for the club.

Chipstead were shell-shocked. They had a game plan which they thought would see them through but when that started to fall apart in the second half their rather one dimensional play was unable to cope with Dorking's tactical kicking and slick passing through the backs.

Two further superb tries followed, both created as a result of tactical kicking, hesitant defence and the ball bouncing in the home side's favour. Dorking's two excellent centres, James Gaymer and Matt Gunasekera, were the scorers, both having chased long kicks, then winning the loose ball which Chipstead failed to secure and running in unopposed. Fly-half Fraser Macdonald converted one to seal an excellent victory.

So, 29 unanswered second-half points and by far the best the boys have played for some time. Chipstead played their full part in a fair strongly contested game, they also refused to use their unavailable players as an excuse. 

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Dorking 39 Effingham 15

No doubt inspired by the events down under the day before the U13's ran in seven tries to three in a friendly against Effingham on Sunday which was played in absolutely atrocious conditions.

Several regular A team players were unavailable so Head Coach Geoff Macdonald took the opportunity to play a mixture of A team players, squad players plus a number of recruits from the U12’s who helped us out at the last minute to make up the numbers. Dorking continually rotated their side over the four fifteen minute quarters format whereas Effingham played their A's for two quarters and their B’s for two quarters.

The final score does not really give credit to Effingham as four or five of the Dorking tries were individual efforts from long range and Effingham wasted a couple of opportunities when knocking-on the slippery ball having created the overlap in the backs.

George Evans scored a hat trick of tries, showing surprising pace for two of them when outsprinting the defence from some way out. Nick Haigh scored a couple with Matt Gunasekera and James Gaymer chipping in with one each.

Dorking fielded two new boys, Alex Holmes and Hugh Fitz-Gibbon, and both acquitted themselves very well on their debuts especially considering the conditions. Other recent arrivals Greg Watson, Ben Collis and James Tapson also showed up well, others adapted well to playing out of position so all in all it was a very worthwhile exercise even though boys and parents alike got absolutely soaked through for their troubles.

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Dorking 12 Esher 14

The U13's narrowly failed to win their ever first ever league match on Sunday when a storming comeback just fell short after their opponents Esher threatened to run away with it in the opening quarter.

Esher raced off in front with an early converted try from a very speedy left wing in the opening few minutes. Having failed to learn the lesson Dorking again conceded an almost identical try a few minutes later which was again very well converted and before they knew it the boys were 0-14 down and facing a mountain to climb.

However, despite playing up the slope, Dorking started to edge their way back into the game with some big drives. Having made a couple of tactical changes to counter the individual strengths of their opponents Dorking did not allow Esher to threaten again so half-time was reached with no further score.

Playing with the slope in the second half Dorking's fightback was dramatic. Pressing straight  from the restart they were rewarded early on following a kick and chase from Nick Haigh who outsprinted the retreating defence to touch down. Fly-half Fraser Macdonald converted well from out wide.

Encouraged by this Dorking again surged forward and it became a match of attrition with Dorking throwing everything at Esher who themselves defended very strongly and commendably continued trying to run the ball from deep.

After almost continuous pressure a fine piece of individual opportunism saw Will Randall intercept an Esher pass and storm over from 10 metres. The conversion attempt from fly-half Macdonald was agonisingly inches wide of the upright.

With 10 minutes still to play Dorking tried everything they could to score aided by some astute kicking down the slope from Macdonald and full-back Jamie Phelan. Esher continued to defend heroically and held the ball up over their try-line on two occasions, the match ending with Dorking literally inches short of their opponent's line. Well played to both sides.

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