SANDAL RFC 15 v DMPRFC 17

A 5 – 12 score line at oranges does little to suggest the dominance of the visitors, who should have had the game sown up by the interval.

Apart from a rare visit to the DMPRFC half, where a mix up in the visitors defence allowed Sandal to capitalise and orchestrate a try, the majority of the pressure had been on the home side.

Try scoring opportunities came and went before lock Peirce PHILLIPS found himself in support of a team mate to touch down after four minutes. (0 – 5)

Sandal replied with the previously mentioned gift (5 – 5), but did little to trouble the score line for the rest of the half, save for a few galloping forays from their highly rated prop, ably assisted from the No. 8 from the base of the scrum.

The visitors enjoyed the lions share of possession, but could not effect the necessary punishment, until a sublime effort from full back Cameron Mitchell added to DMPRFC’s tally on thirty minutes, allowing fly half Grant CONNON the easiest of afters. (5 – 12)

Admittedly, things were very tight at this stage and a close game was always on the cards.

Sandal scored the first points after the interval, as DMPRFC committed the first of their fifteen second half penalties, when their busy full back slotted a penalty (8 – 12)

Replacement prop Ralph APPLEBY galloped over on fifty eight minutes to restore a decent and deserved gap (8 – 17), but from the restart, an attempted clearance from the visitor’s line, fell to a rampaging home winger, who pinned back his ears and set off for the line, reaching it with unreserved comfort, as DMPRFC’s defence watched him do it. (13 – 17).

Easy afters under the posts were achieved (15 – 17) and there then followed a bizarre finale, where try as they might, Sandal could not profit from a sequence of penalties, which should have put them in an undeserving winning position.

As it was, none of the penalties were converted and DMPRFC ran out deserved on the road winners.