Dorking were comfortable winners over a Havant side that stood up well against the promotion contenders for a large part of the match until a series of tries in the last quarter allowed their opponents to pull well clear. It was a game in which the intermittent bursts of heavy rain, the strong cross-field wind and the pitch’s slope determined the timbre and tone of the match for both sides. The standout feature however, was Dorking’s defence, the most miserly in this league, restricting a Havant side who had regular attacking ball in the ‘22’, to just one try.

Havant showed five changes from the team that defeated Henley in the last round of matches. In the backs the improving Dylan Evans came in for the unavailable Ben Griffin and Colin Sisk, missing in recent matches, filled in at fly-half in the absence of injured (knee) Reuben Knight. Up front the back-row was completely replaced, all because of injury, with Jacob Ashworth, Wes Dugan and the fit again Angus Southon (usually 2nd row) coming in for Dylan Read, Jack Colbourne and Archie Cleeve. Dorking showed two changes from the side that won away at Westcombe Park last time out. Prop Charlie Connor was promoted from the bench in the only change in the forwards. In the backs Tom Howe came in at outside centre with Brian Hotson vacating the centre spot and moving out to the wing.

Havant kicked off ‘long’, playing with the slope but with the wind going across the pitch at an angle which didn’t favour them. Dorking cleared but Wes Dugan punched a hole in midfield with the ball taken on by Colin Sisk. His pass was adjudged to have been deliberately knocked down by the Dorking centre Sam Blade and he was immediately given a yellow card. Jacob Knight kicked the subsequent penalty to the home side’s 5m line. The advantage however was lost and for the next few minutes both sides tested each other out ‘between the 22s’.

On 9’ Havant came close to scoring. A high kick from Havant went loose in the Dorking ‘22’ and Sam Trodd picked the ball up to score. He was however adjudged to have knocked the ball on in the contest for the high ball. Havant at this stage were very competitive, making mini-breaks when they had the ball and defending well when they didn’t. It was however, Dorking who scored first. A midfield penalty was kicked to the Havant ‘22’. The host’s open-side Tom Bloomer broke clear and moved the ball to hooker George Head who touched down on 11’ with fly-half Tom Hardwick missing the conversion.

The wind got stronger and the rain got harder. From the restart, Havant secured possession through Craig Durnin, but Dorking got possession back and worked their way to the ‘22’ with Havant defending well for a time to keep them out. Havant eventually turned the ball over and got to halfway before kicking the ball through to the Dorking 22, securing possession. Dorking escaped and put in an ‘up and under’ ball, taken very well by Dylan Evans who was showing up well at full-back. The visitors were keeping the ball and good drives by several players including Craig Durnin got Havant to about 30m out, earning a penalty which was kicked to touch. The lineout was lost, Dorking escaped but then kicked the ball out ‘on the full’ which gave Havant the lineout on the home side’s ‘22’. Havant secured the lineout and then won a penalty which Joel Knight kicked from in front of the posts to make it 5-3 on 23’. Havant had been in possession for 6-7 minutes and were showing up well.

The ball went back and forth for a minute or so, before Dorking finally secured quality possession and field position through a kick to the Havant ‘22’ for the first time for about ten minutes. Dorking were looking unthreatening at this stage but a high tackle against the visitors won the attacking side a penalty. The ball was kicked to touch, the lineout was secured and the ball was moved to Nick Barry the Dorking prop who touched down. Hardwick converted to make it 12-3 to Dorking on 29’.

Colin Sisk was playing sensibly at fly-half, adjusting to the conditions with good kicks of the right length, crucially keeping them low with the bobbling ball making it hard to pick up and run back on the greasy surface. With Havant attacking from such a kick, George Head was given a yellow card for a high tackle on Ben Holt for which he apologised, on 31’. Havant were creating chances to get back into the match but there was a feeling too that they needed to get parity at least with the advantage of the slope of the pitch. At this point, Harrison Young had to leave the field with a niggle (he assured us) to be replaced by Will Saunders.

With the second downpour arriving, your reporter took refuge and observed the last few minutes of the half from the safety of the clubhouse, with Havant and Dorking mostly battling it out in the middle of the field with Havant making one foray into the ‘22’ with the home side able to escape. The halftime whistle went with the score 12-3 to the home side but with Havant perhaps not getting the reward that their efforts deserved. Dorking are the league’s meanest defenders with only 97 points conceded prior to this game and we witnessed this with their determination to keep Havant out.

The second half began with a bout of ‘kick tennis’ punctuated by a good Dylan Evans mini-break. Ominously the first scrum of the second half saw Dorking shunt the Havant pack back, something that would happen several times more in the second half. Havant managed to escape with a good touch kick from Jacob Knight but Dorking won the ball, swung it right and used the overlap to send wing Harry Barker in on the left on 44’, with the conversion again missed by Hardwick. This made it 17-3 and, with the slope and the challenging conditions, it looked difficult now for Havant.

The restart saw Havant have territorial advantage for a few minutes. Two Dorking penalty concessions, on the second choosing to ‘tap and go’, took Havant up to the Dorking 5m line. Forwards rumbled, with Craig Durnin, Sean Shepherd and Will Saunders to the fore but the side weren’t really getting right up to the line, with Dorking continuing the excellent defensive shape of the first half. Sean Shepherd got the closest but couldn’t make the final two yards to score. A one-handed attempted intercept on a pass out to Will Perry, should have been given a yellow card and a high tackle probably should have been punished too but that might not have made a difference such was the defensive excellence.

Dorking finally escaped after the long period of Havant pressure through a penalty awarded for crossing when taking a high ball. Dorking quickly got the ball up the field and weak tackling on the right gave fullback Max Coyle the opportunity to break free and score. The conversion was missed making it 22-3 on 56’ and a try bonus point to Dorking. This was the point where it really became clear that Havant weren’t coming back. Dorking had absorbed all of the pressure and scored almost immediately after they had escaped from their own half.

Havant conceded a penalty for coming in at the side of the ruck not long after the restart which Hardwick kicked to the Havant ‘22’. Havant conceded another penalty and Dorking started to move the ball around well, with less pressure on them after the bonus point try. Hooker George Head scored his second after a forward rumble, converted this time by Hardwick, to make it 29-3 on 59’.

From the restart Havant had possession, Dorking conceded a penalty and from the touch finder and subsequent lineout, Havant took the ball up close to the line through Will Saunders. Havant deserved a score but, as with the attacking opportunities earlier, were finding it difficult. We were doing everything we could to score the try and eventually the effort was rewarded with Colin Sisk getting the touch down. Joel Knight kicked the conversion to make it 29-10 with 14 minutes left.

With scrum and territorial dominance Dorking took over possession for most of the last ten minutes. The Havant scrum were warned for persistent scrum infringements. After the third scrum penalty Dorking scored under the posts through number 8 Will Scholes, converted by Hardwick. Not long after Max Coyle got his second score. From the restart, Dorking got to a loose ball quicker, the ball was moved to the left and with a two man overlap the try was inevitable. The conversion was missed and the match ended. Final score: 41-10 to Dorking.