Old Dunstonians 34 Tonbridge Juddians 6
Report from Geoff Pettitt
After last week’s losing performance against Gravesend, TJs needed to pick themselves up for their game against Old Dunstonians at Langley Park. The team selected showed a number of key changes with Smyth, Carroll and Allen, three of the more prominent players in last week’s, being ruled out with injury. The experienced Deacon returned at scrum-half and Ventin and MacNamarra, a couple of new or returning faces to the 1st XV, joined the battle.
TJs started well enough with the half-backs and the centres showing some welcome attacking intent on the one hand and pulling off some strong tackles on the other. ODs gave notice straight away that they would run the ball.
It was soon clear that TJs would miss the towering presence and energy of Carroll in the line out and they lost the ball on a couple of occasions on their own throw. Some innovation and the use of a shortened line-out enabled MD Howell to go some way to overcoming this weakness.
Wallace went close to scoring in a TJ attack down the right hand side but it was ODs who registered the first points of the match when fly-half Hennessy converted a simple penalty for handling in the ruck straight in front of the posts and about 20 metres out.
TJs responded immediately. Mitchell fielded a kick ahead and put in his own high kick down field. The ball was not cleared to touch and TJs, following up well, knocked on. However, with a commendable effort, TJs won the scrum ball against the head and forced ODs to go offside. Ventin duly obliged with the penalty and brought the scores level at 3 all.
OD’s kick off was knocked on by the TJ catcher and put the home side into a good attacking position. They won the ensuing scrum and it was left to full-back Mitchell to produce a try-saving tackle on ODs left wing.
On a dry and warm day and on a hard pitch the pace of the end-to-end game was fast and furious with both sides showing some early season rustiness in their handling and decision making.
TJs went close in successive moves through Wagstaff and Deacon and were eventually rewarded with a second penalty. Ventin put the kick over and with it TJs took the lead.
The last few minutes of the first half saw ODs deep in the TJs’s half a position gratefully relieved by the award of a penalty. It was alarming, however, to see the way in which ODs scrum was beginning to make TJ’s eight creak and crumble. But ODs failed to turn their physical and territorial pressure into points and at half time TJs held a deserved 6 – 3 lead.
Local wisdom at ODs has it that their pitch which slopes in two directions towards the clubhouse, is worth 12 points to the home side who can use these characteristics to full advantage. ODs had the slope in the second half. Initially, TJs who had largely failed to use the slope to their own advantage in the first half, showed little respect for the home club’s expectations from the pitch. They started uphill with fire and enthusiasm. But after some five minutes things started to go wrong. A ball was lost in the tackle and OD’s centre Stanley ran through well and went over in the corner. Hennessy converted and TJ’s lead was gone. Worse was to come. TJ’s defence charged down a kick-ahead only to see it bounce back into the arms of OD’s winger Antonio. He touched down and gave Hennessy the opportunity, which he took, to add the goal points. Now it became quite clear how the slope, and the momentum that it gave the players, was going to help the home side establish a good score. Time after time fly-half Hennessy made considerable ground with relieving kicks out of defence or with well-placed attacking kicks to the corners. From one such TJs lost the line-out and ODs mauled the ball over the line for hooker Lawrence to touch down. This time the conversion attempt failed. Lawrence was on hand again a few minutes later, this time in open play, to score his second try. Once more Hennessy failed to convert the hooker’s try but, in a disastrous period of some ten minutes TJ’s lead of 6 – 3 had become a deficit of 6 – 27.
ODs were not finished. Their long raking kicks kept TJs firmly stuck in their own 22 and after a TJ mix-up in the centre, wing-forward Melford raced though to touch down under the posts. Hennessy did not miss this time.
ODs would have gone further ahead had it not been for the fact that the referee was laid low – accidentally of course - by one of the players and did not see that winger Bennett had touched down over the line after a strong run from full-back Woodward. After some discussion with the players he decided that he could not award a try he did not witness.
TJs decided, in the circumstances, that attack was the best form of defence. But they were launching their attacks from deep in their own half and despite some determined driving from Carver, Wagstaff and M D Howell they could not close the formidable gap that ODs had created.
Local wisdom said that the slope on the pitch was worth 12 points to the home side but in fact ODs scored 31 points in a disastrous second half for their visitors.
In many respects TJ’s performance was a great improvement on that of last week but they will have to tighten up considerably for future games if they are to secure a respectable position in this league. ODs, for their part showed themselves to be a big and powerful side whose tactics of kicking for territory and position were well rehearsed, whose passing and catching were well executed. At this early stage of the season their prospects for a top league position look good.
Tonbridge Juddians 1st XV: Mitchell (capt): Connolly, Farmer, MacNamarra, Burgess (Cocks 60); Ventin, Deacon; Williams (Higgins 40), Wallace, Stevenson, MD Howell, Underhill, Carver, MP Howell, Wagstaff.
