Any complacency from the Sussex cup champions soon vanished when Dunstonian centre Rory Palmer charged down a clearing kick to score under the posts only two minutes into the game. The early score settled the visitors who had suffered the late withdrawal of second row Keith Boyd who sustained a neck strain in the pre-match warm up. Rangy replacement Tom MacNamara started the match and soon made his presence felt in the lineout and driving mauls.
With the Beckenham forwards producing a more direct and gritty performance, Pulborough responded with some powerful runs themselves to re-establish some territory advantage. Like Pulborough's celebratory lunch, the match was getting quite tasty with the OD back row outstanding in defence but the heavy collisions cost OD’s their captain and ball winner Pete Jefferys who was sidelined after 20 minutes, replaced by Alex McCulloch.
Two Pulborough tries seemed to signal a momentum switch. However, the error prone home side allowed OD’s to profit from lineout and scrum, giving half backs Mark McKillop and Mike Ubee time and space to dictate the play. Back they came with a spectacular try which saw a slick combination of running and passing down the left touchline to give elusive full back Linval Antonio the opportunity to score wide out. A superb touch line conversion from Mike Ubee reasserted an unlikely lead and the old boys confidently settled into some good patterns of play and controlled the phases.
The Pulborough clubhouse looks over the stunning panoramic views of the south Downs but space was at a premium on the pitch as both sides got physical. Tighter forward discipline than in previous weeks first brought dividends for Dunstonians and a determined forward effort 10 metres out put MacNamara over the line. Ubee again converted to briefly recapture the lead but this was quickly surrendered when the failure to clear from the restart allowed the Pulborough backs to create a soft try under the posts.
At 26-21, with Jefferys back in the fray, there was a whiff of upset in the fresh Sussex air but the second half firmly belonged to the Pulborough XV whose superior fitness and stamina began to tell. OD’s were unable to add to their score while their opponents drew clear with another couple of well worked tries.
Despite the loss, OD’s remain a competitive side always capable of searing counter attack rugby and scoring tries. Against the league front runners they enjoyed long periods of dominance, when they looked every bit the equal of their opponents. Consistent game management and fitness hold the key, but this OD side is getting better by the week and ups will pretty soon outweigh the downs, even in Sussex.