Dubs 12 vs. Pelhamians 29 (26/01/08 - Return Fixture)
After beating early league-leaders Haslemere the week before, we had high hopes of another good performance against old rivals Pelhamians.
Unfortunately, yet another changed backline was forced upon us through injury and non-availability and we shipped two quick tries to give P's easy points early on. With the referee being consistent, if a little intolerant of the rugby standard, the game quickly broke down into a stop-start affair with multiple scrums and stoppages. The backs then began to gel to present a more robust defence and with the P's 10 and our Rob trading kicks, the set piece continued as the order of the day.
Some spirited forays by the Dubs forwards late in the first half saw us making headway into the P's 22-yard area, quick ball from a collapsed maul saw the ball go through the hands to Rob out wide to stroll over for an unconverted score. This lifted the team and the first half closed out on even terms.
Poor discipline cost us dear in the second half and we lost Dom and Roch to the sin bin, at one point playing with 13. P's suffered equally at the hands of the referee and also lost two to the bin. Continued pressure whilst a man up saw us camped on the P's line but continually stopped short, sometimes legitimately and sometimes not. The referee then intervened and awarded us a penalty try which was duly converted by Roch. With the game in the balance a converted try would have seen us back in the game, and we tried valiantly to break out and score but the finishing part of the move just wouldn't come.
P's then rallied well to secure the next score and put the game beyond reach. The scoreline was somewhat flattered by a last-minute try around the fringes but camped on our line and having to run everything that was always a risk. A good physical effort all round and a game played in good spirit, but better execution on the field saw Pelhamians deservedly take the spoils.
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