Sevenoaks 13 Old Dunstonian 27

The Old Boys have developed a worrying habit of playing half a game. D's at half time were surely over the horizon with a 21 point lead and the 4 try bonus point in the bag. Incisive attacking combined with some stout defence meant that the second half was surely a question of the winning margin. Not so, as Sevenoaks came back strongly aided by a listless defensive display from D's. Not only did Dunstonian not trouble the scorers in the second half, they lost 4 players to the bin and only Sevenoaks artless passing in midfield (which butchered two nailed on try scoring opportunities) saved the old boys from a much closer outcome.

The game started brightly for the old boys, and their pacy varied attacks bought four scores from Dennis, Hawkins, Smart and Dale, securing the bonus point and seemingly set the platform for a big win. This didn't transpire partly due to OD's current habit of switching off after 40 minutes and Sevenoaks desire to get something out of the game. A period of sustained pressure saw the hosts go over on the right. Oaks butchered two subsequent scoring opportunities where only a pass to hand was required. The hosts further ratcheted up the pressure and some desperate defending saw four old boys binned in quick succession by a referee who was always keen to be fully involved. With a bare 12 on the park and with the hosts coming on strong, D's finally awoke and some strong defence kept Oaks out. A huge hit taking man and ball from Lee Smith exemplified this belated commitment.

The habit of playing a half and then dozing for one cost victory against Warlingham last week, where a 20 point lead donated in the first period proved insurmountable, and recent second half performances against Deal and now Sevenoaks have offered the opposition plenty of encouragement. As three of the last four games feature visits to Lewes, Brighton and East Grinstead the old boys can be expected to be punished severely if they play for anything less than the full 80. The first of these sees the Old Boys travel to Lewes in a fortnight for another testing afternoon.