Old Dunstonian 18 - Aylesford Bulls 12

A powerful opening saw Dunstonian faster out of the blocks and a startled Aylesford side found themselves under siege for the first 15 minutes. This initial flurry of activity bought only a Josh Smith penalty, and as the old boys intensity dimmed, the Bulls came into the game, their packs physicality and their centre partnership looking effective attacking assets. The old boys gave away the lead when a loose home pass was scooped up and run in for a converted score to give the Bulls a 7-3 lead. With Smith in the bin following an obstruction offence from a quick tap, Aylesford missed the straightforward three pointer and the half closed 7-3 to the visitors with the old boys looking forward to using the slope in the second half.

The old boys upped the ante in the second half with scrum half Mackie always at the centre of things, ably supported by incisive running from Dallanana, Connolly and Smart. After another Josh Smith penalty had taken D’s to within a point, it was Smart who broke the game open. Picking up in broken play 30 metres out he outstripped the cover with a burst of acceleration and showed sufficient strength to get over the line with two defenders hanging off him, the try of a quality sevens player. The game was made safe when a slick blindside burst backed by some spectacular handling resulted in an unconverted try for Mackie and an 18-7 lead for the hosts. Back came the Bulls, never a side easily cowed, and scored a try on the right that was again unconverted. Bulls 10 Harvey endured an off day with the boot, and a couple of very kickable opportunities that would have made the final outcome closer were allowed to go begging. The old boys kept the Bulls at arms length for the games remainder allowing the visitors the scant consolation of a bonus point. The oppositions very fair report is linked to this page (top right)

Whilst its easy to concentrate on the pyrotechnics conjured by some spectacular back play, the forwards earned their beer on Saturday night, with Alex Lake, normally to be found in the back three putting in an effective shift on the blindside.

Next week the old boys have a Saturday off followed by a tough trip to the coast to play Deal & Betteshanger before hosting early pace setters East Grinstead. With the week off being useful to treat a few injuries hopefully a fully complement of players will be available to coach Dave Burford to see if this improvement in form can continue.