Dover 21 - Wimbledon 6

Wimbledon made the away trip to Dover and returned empty handed after a match where the powerful pack of the home team, playing in heavy rain on a saturated pitch were able to dominate the visitors. That Wimbledon restricted Dover to two tries, the second being on 78 minutes, both scored through pushovers was to their credit, and two forwards, Steve May and Rob Tait were able to return from injury and come through the game was also a credit. Other positives included the increasing confidence of Rhys Morgan at scrum-half who also displayed coolness under pressure.

In the early stages Wimbledon were able to take a 6 – 0 lead with penalties from outside half Bryan Croke after 17 minutes through mistakes by the Dover forwards. But the pressure they exerted prevented Wimbledon from mounting any meaningful attacks. There was also some very light-touch refereeing to contend with and later both captains received advice throughout the halftime break from Mr Delport. But whatever was said, he failed to back his words with yellow cards where appropriate until the very end of the match. He allowed far too much tolerance with offsides and side-entry and with the resulting lack of possession Wimbledon were forced to defend for much of the match.

Wimbledon will be glad this match is behind them and will look forward to the return fixture in March in better conditions with, it is hoped, a less tolerant and more observant referee.

Wimbledon will next play on 23rd November at home to Haywards Heath with a 2.30pm start.