The supporters who made their way to Coburg Road were treated to an excellent game of rugby and a much improved performance from a distinctly makeshift Dorchester side. Injuries and unavailability was such that assistant coach Mike Sprules was pressed into service, making his first appearance for six years.
The form suggested that this would be an easy win for the visitors and they clearly came with a game plan of attacking from everywhere. The hosts however were up for the fight, more than matching Oldfield up front and tackling solidly when required. Oldfield did open the scoring with an unconverted try but John Firkin popped over a penalty to narrow the gap. The Oldfield forwards forced their way over for a second, unconverted, try before Mike Sprules coolly dropped a goal and the gap was back to four points. As the first half came to a close the strength of the Oldfield backs became even more evident as they added two more converted tries to open a reasonably comfortable 24-6 lead.
Any thoughts that Dorchester might fold in the second half were soon dispelled as they continued to disrupt the Oldfield scrummage and put pressure on the visitors backs whenever possible. A mistake allowed John Firkin to hack the ball forward and Jack Elliott won the race to dive on the ball in the corner. Firkin added the extras with a superb touchline conversion.
The Oldfield backs were now looking distinctly nervous and only a forward pass prevented Elliott going over for a second try in the same corner. Unsurprisingly the pace of the game finally got the better of Mike Sprules and he was forced to leave the field with cramp. The disruption caused by the resulting changes allowed Oldfield’s fly half to waltz through the midfield to score the game’s final try and put a slightly flattering slant on the final score.
Weatherbury Hearn- SEC - JW Sacffolding Man of the Match– Mike Sprules.
Team:- Hodgson, Chalker, Kershaw R (Borries 55), Hodges, King (Richards 60), Prior, Newsam, Goodfellow E; Gower D, Sprules (Weller 70); Harvey, Elliott, Firkin, Baker; Spensley;
Take a look at Richard Budds website for more pictures from the game. Pictures website | His website
