The visitors kicked off and Havant were soon on the scoreboard. Havant took the ball from the Dorking kickoff, Ben Holt put the ball in the air and Ross Parkins secured the penalty at the subsequent ruck. The ball was kicked to touch and from the lineout Joel Knight broke through the midfield and the ball went right, with Will Perry just about pushed into touch as he scored. A bizarre lineout followed in which Dorking thought it was a good idea to throw ‘long’. Havant took the ball in the middle of the field and it was quickly fed to Sam Trodd wide on the left who had a simple run in. Joel Knight, who place-kicked beautifully throughout, converted well to make it 7-0 on 4’.

Havant were soon threatening again. Sam Trodd made a superb break in midfield and got to about two metres out before Ben Holt took the ball at the ruck and got the touchdown close to the posts despite close attention from several backtracking Dorking defenders. Joel Knight converted again to make it 14-0 on 7’.

Over the next ten minutes, penalty concessions from Havant gave Dorking the chance to get good field position. Dorking’s forwards tried repeatedly to break the Havant line but with little success, and a lack of pace out wide meant their attempts to make progress were nullified, for now, by a convincing Havant defence and some overambitious passing of their own. Dorking were also giving Havant easy escapes with penalty concessions of their own.

It came as something of a surprise when elusive wing Theo Williamson (a good player) beat three Havant defenders from 40m out when he should have been tackled, to score. Jack Thorn, who didn’t miss a goal-kick all day, converted to make it 14-7 on 22’. Havant woke themselves up after ten minutes of generously allowing Dorking to find their feet, and Angus Southon produced the best break of his Havant career, beating five or six players and setting up great field position on Dorking’s ‘22’. The ball immediately went left and Sam Trodd raced in for his second try. Joel Knight converted. 21-7 to Havant on 27’.

After those two scores, the game went flat for a while. Both teams were playing in the middle of the field, although Havant did start winning opposition lineout ball. However, it would be Dorking who scored next. Sam Blade, who would feature strongly in the second half, broke clear on the right after poor Havant defence and passed back inside to inside centre Thomas Iles, who touched down for Dorking’s second score, converted by Jack Thorn, to make it 21-14 on the stroke of half-time.

Dylan Evans was replaced by Ben Chambers at half-time (reason unknown). The first five minutes of the second half saw Dorking holding possession without doing much with it, although Dorking’s new No. 8 Kas Lee, recruited from Brighton, was starting to come into the game more.

Havant regained possession after a dropped pass and had some room to operate in. The crowd ‘buzz’ when Will Perry gets the ball forty metres out with a little space is special, as we saw last season and were about to witness once more. It was no surprise when he blasted past two Dorking players on the outside without either of them laying a finger on him. How fortunate we are to have a player who makes the crowd hold its breath in this way. Joel Knight converted well to make it 28-14 on 48’ and the try bonus secured.

The replacements gathered pace with Steve Jenkinson replacing Tam Lindsay at prop and Cam Boa replaced by Joe Elyas for his Havant league debut. Both can be pleased with their work in a strong front five, augmented later by Freddie Ferson. By the time Havant’s supporters had recovered from the joy of Will Perry’s score, Dorking were touching down at the other end. From the kick-off, Sam Blade broke through, aided by weak tackling, and touched down for his second try, with his score converted once more by Jack Thorn, to make it 28-21 on 49’.

On 56’, Havant had a double blow, with Ben Holt given a ten-minute rest for dissent and Joel Knight having to leave the field, replaced by Liam Charlson. Rather worryingly, this looked like a hamstring problem (or at best a dead leg). This came after his own break had released Sam Trodd, who got to within two metres of the Dorking line. If this was a cue for Dorking to up their game, they did so, winning two penalties and finding themselves in the Havant ‘22’. A scrum penalty awarded to Havant (one of four they won during the game) gave Havant an escape, and good kicks from Reuben Knight got the side well into the Dorking half.

Havant got themselves up to the five-metre line with Brandon Vince becoming more prominent in attack from short aggressive bursts that were sucking in two defenders. One bodged lineout, from a penalty kicked to touch, was frustrating, but another was awarded, and Reuben Knight got the side closer to Dorking’s line again. Joe Elyas found Sam Vince jumping at ‘two’ in the lineout, and after a few forward salvoes, Sam Vince himself got the ball and scored from about one metre out. Now 33-21 on 68’ with the try unconverted.

It felt decisive for only about 30 seconds. Dorking replied instantly through scrum-half Tom Newman, earning his side their try bonus. Jack Thorn’s conversion made it 33-28 (with the try bonus). Havant were struggling to close out the match.

Two more good short runs from Brandon Vince set up position in Dorking’s half, and a penalty gave Reuben Knight the chance to kick for the posts and take the lead beyond seven points. This he did to make it 36-28 on 72’. When Wes Dugan crashed over from a 5m lineout to extend the lead (the try converted by Reuben Knight to make it 43-28), it really was all over. However, a determined Dorking side still found the time for a final score of their own, with the penetrative Sam Blade finding his way over the line. Thorn converted again to make it 43-35 to Havant at the close.

Other League Games

Jersey 22 - 33 London Welsh
Oundle 52 - 31 Esher
Barnes 45 - 28 Colchester
Canterbury 31 - 34 Old Albanian
Westcombe Park 38 - 35 Henley
Leicester Lions 19 - 40 Guernsey