GRFC 1st XV Colts vs Dorking
Sunday 3rd March 2024
It was a busy day at the club on Sunday with the Guildford Colts playing two Quins Cup matches at home. Our 2nd XV was facing Teddington B to determine who would go top of their group and our 1st XV faced Dorking for top position in Tier 1. Both teams were already through to their respective semi-finals.
Dorking have a strong side and are through to the semi-finals of the National Cup, so were always going to be a difficult opposition. We had a game at the beginning of the season where they were totally dominant, and they arrived on Sunday expecting to win. Dorking scored first in the first half and settled into their usual style of play. Guildford have worked hard to combat their strengths and our set piece forward play surprised them. For the first hour we were dominant in our scrum even though they had a bigger pack, and our lineout was working well too. The next try went Guildford’s way, and we were back in the game. Another two tries, one apiece, and the score was level at 14-14. An amazing volley by Lochlan Ellis-Jones left our full back injured after their chasing player, who had lined up the tackle, could not pull out and clattered into Lochy. Another try each before half time left the match finely poised. A yellow card for one of the Dorking players a minute before half time left them in an unusual position of having a game on their hands.
The second half went more their way. After an hour they brought on their massive replacement forwards, which our front row did not have dominance over, and the game turned in their favour. The eventual score ended up 28-52. There were some great individual performances, and our front row did amazingly well, considering the size of the opposition. Theo Oxley also deserves a mention for some of the best tackling I have seen for some time.
With both Colts teams through to the semi finals of their respective groups, next weekend is going to be another big weekend. Thank you to all those who came down to support.
Chris Rowe