OD’s come of age with six try bonanza

For coach Phil Ubee, Saturday’s win against Crowborough represented the most complete performance the side has managed under his tenure: “We saw real continuity between forwards and backs throughout the game, which was played mostly in our opponents’ half”, he said, adding “with the opportunity to play our natural running game, we scored six tries showing exactly what the team can do on the front foot”. Mindful that Crowborough had produced a strong rearguard forward assault in the final period of both halves, there is plenty still to work on in order to consistently pressurise the top teams, but sitting joint fourth in the league at the end of October, proves that Dunstonians have good cause for optimism.
The first half was a revelation with the home side quickly into their stride. The forwards worked a good position as Jamie Pecorella popped up at scrumhalf to get the ball away from a ruck. A long pass from fly half Mike Ubee gave Rory Palmer the room to round a defence that couldn’t match the intensity of the OD start. Minutes later, OD’s forced another attacking lineout from 10 metres out and executed a perfect catch and drive to tie in the Crowborough forwards and allow scrum half Tom Coombs to come neatly off his right foot and score. With home side conversions difficult to come by, the quick riposte from the Sussex team brought back the score to 10-7 through a rather soft try from a lineout catch that should have been better defended both in the air and on the ground. However, Dunstonian statistics would have shown dominant possession and territory, allowing half backs Coombs and Ubee to put the ball in front of a pack that was chasing effectively and holding its ground to frustrate any chance of counter attack. Ubee duly delivered a penalty kick with Crowborough fully under the cosh and unable to break the OD stranglehold. Bozier broke strongly out of the OD half to force a lineout deep into Crowborough territory. A perfect throw to James Oddy at the back from the robust Conor Mitchell, enjoying his first game back from injury, gave Ubee quick ball to deliver a short scoring pass to winger Jamal Gobir who had run the perfect line to score under the posts. Ubee converted to stretch the OD lead to an improbable 20-7 with only 32 minutes on the clock! The forwards then got into the act following a break from full back Diarmuid Raleigh on the right. As the backs piled into the ruck, the ball spun effortlessly down the line to find would-be centre Tom MacNamara and his wing man Conor Mitchell perfectly positioned to outflank the bedraggled Crowborough cover and epitomise Dunstonians’ fifteen man game.
25-7 suitably reflected Dunstonians first half superiority but Crowborough were to register their continuing interest in the game before the half time whistle. From an innocuous ruck some 40 metres out, the OD defensive line that had been so switched on, suddenly lost its discipline and allowed a simple midfield break to create a try that was converted from wide out. As OD’s huffed and puffed, the referee’s extended injury time gave Crowborough another opportunity to score a further 7 points, amazingly taking them to within one score of a rattled old boy side at the break.
Replacements Pete Jefferys and Chris Pecorella started the second half and helped reestablish OD focus up front and reassert some physical presence that had evaporated at the end of the first half. OD’s fortunately tightened their grip once more and put pressure on the ‘borough pack. James Oddy led a forward revival that saw the visitors lose their flyhalf for 10 minutes and allow Rory Palmer to show his paces on the left wing, beating his man and outpacing the sparse cover to score wide out. Just to show that he could do it against fifteen players, a driving run from Oddy created space for the dextrous and ever present Bozier to throw a long scoring pass to the winger, which he gleefully accepted for his third try of the match.
This was effectively game over but the referee judged that there was still time for a Crowborough consolation try and bonus point fashioned from a sequence of 3 inexplicable penalties in stoppage time that took the visitors to a line out from which their rolling maul, the OD’s achilles heel, produced literally a last minute try.
Scorers
Tries: Palmer (3) Coombs, Gobir, Mitchell
Penalties: Ubee
Conversions: Ubee
Man of the Match: Closely contested but awarded to James Oddy for an outstanding all round back row performance that took the whole forward effort to a higher level.