Chiswick Merciless in Must-win Match

Rugby Result : Chiswick 68 Dover 0

London 1 South comprises two sets of teams, and Chiswick and Dover are in the lower set, where all but one will be relegated, so this promised to be a big game. A late start due to transport difficulties did Dover no favours, but they then faced a non-stop onslaught, as Chiswick finally played a match throughout to their strengths, with the forwards contributing hugely in the loose, and the backs blending into a formidable unit, orchestrated by the half-backs Russ Dovey and Simon Hallett.

From the start Chiswick selected the maul as a main weapon, and within two minutes they had been awarded a penalty try after Dover had stopped two consecutive attacks illegally, the second close to the goal-line. Hallett added the points, and from then on Dover faced wave upon wave of marauding Chiswickians, all eager to get the ball, make some ground and require at least two Kentish men to stop them. The greater strength of the home players was key to this victory, Dover often having to commit four or five players to the tackle.

In the scrums, however, they did well, and Chiswick’s No.8 and captain, Sam Leslie-Miller was soon having to fish the ball out whilst back-pedalling. He was soon proving his worth in the lineout, also, snitching a Dover throw, with the assistance of Matt Cooper, to set up an attack involving the impressive James Bunbury, and ending with Tom Steer showing a clean pair of orange heels to the opponents, to score in the right corner. Hallett’s kick unsurprisingly failed in the cold east wind. He then slotted a penalty kick before a sustained Chiswick attack led to a try by the bullocking prop Heath McDonough, revelling in the firm conditions. Hallett converted this one. Twenty minutes and 22-0.

Dover finally got a chance to score, but with an overlap on their left, the ball was thrown carelessly behind the wing and into touch. Luck favoured Chiswick at the next lineout, and with Jon Joyce, Simon Allen-Clarke, McDonough and Sam Hobbins all running hard down the middle, Dover were under severe pressure. Trying to run from mid-field they then sustained a turnover, and the ball was worked quickly to the Chiswick left wing, Dan Purkiss. For the third time in the match he took on the Dover wing man, and this time managed to keep just out of his reach as he stormed triumphantly into the left corner for an unconverted try. Tom Steer got the next, converted, try, under the posts after good work by the forwards and the final score of the first half was, fittingly, a try, scored and converted by Hallett.

Second halves have not been good for Chiswick this season, and in last year’s home match against Dover they had held on desperately for a four point win, but this time, although having, surprisingly, given the score, eleven of the players from that match, the desire was there, and Dover gained no respite. Purkiss got his second in the left corner after Dan Sutherland and Tom Steer had attacked down the left, the kick failing. With James Dibble being replaced by Fred Gnagyuk, McDonough took over the hooking duties, and immediately found Hobbins with a good lineout throw ( what a difference in the last few matches!). Marc Copperwheat came on in place of Leslie-Miller, determined to get at least his share of the ball in open play.

Hard-working flanker Sam Biss got the next try, in the left corner, after Bunbury and Steer had both failed to weave their way through the Dover defence, the former then being replaced by Jamie Millais. Dibble then had to return, with Cooper’s retirement, and soon picked up a try in the favoured left corner. Hallett got this one – practice makes perfect! A bad lineout throw by Chiswick gave Dover a glimpse of consolation, but Sutherland stopped the Dover No.12 in full flight down the middle. The last twenty minutes produced two more unconverted home tries, Copperwheat and Sutherland being the scorers.

Chiswick team:- Cooper, Dibble, McDonough, Hobbins, Allen-Clarke, Joyce, Biss, Leslie-Miller, Dovey, Hallett, Steer, Godfrey, Bunbury, Purkiss, Sutherland; Gnagyuk, Copperwheat, Millais

December 5, 2016