Longlevens RFC

Longlevens welcomed North Dorset to Longford Lane for the Papa John’s South Plate quarter final this Saturday and dragged their tired bodies over the line for victory.

The Griffins had played four cup games in two weeks, two of them very energy sapping and feisty Combination cup matches, and fatigue was definitely creeping in. North Dorset were also a very big side so extra effort was needed all round to combat their set piece and short game.

The game started slowly, and it was Dorset who got on the score sheet first through a penalty, their only points of the match. Brad Wilkins replied on 20 minutes to level the scores before the Griffins finally opened up the Dorset defence. As with the previous game against Coney Hill the key to scoring was to move the bigger opposition around the pitch. A break by Jed Holman-Jones was eventually finished off by well by Ben Collier and it looked like the floodgates may open, however it was a frustrating half with mistakes creeping in which ensured the score stayed 8-3.

A rousing half time speech by the squad leaders made it clear that fatigue was not an excuse, and more effort was needed.

The advice was heeded almost straight away. From a scrum on the right the ball was moved wide out the back to Matt Smith hitting the line from full back. He span the ball even wider to replacement winger, Carlos Jenkins, who finished very well in the corner, converted from touch, 15-3.

The blueprint had been set and Longlevens knew what they needed to do. However, it was another 10 minutes before they scored again, in very similar fashion. A lineout on the right was worked left and crashed up the middle. The ball was recycled, and Tom Griffiths threw a nice pass to Jenkins for him to sprint clear for his second, 22-3.

The final score came from Collier for his second. He took a crash ball through the middle of the Dorset centre pairing and took a plethora of defenders with him to power over under the posts making the final score 29-3.

In the end it was job done and the players can be very pleased with the win. They now get a week to rest before they play Barton Hill at home for a place in the Papa John’s final at the StoneX stadium in London on 6^th May.