Dunstablians Rugby Union Football Club

Fixtures/Results: Mini/Junior

Under 15's:

DATE		U15s	VENUE	RESULT	SCORERS
SEPT-08	7th	TRAINING
	14th	REGISTRATION DAY
	21th	HARPENDEN (TRAINING)	AWAY	L 12-17	Report
	26th	LUTON (Friendly)	HOME	L 0-60	Report
OCT-08	5th	TRAINING
	12th	OLD ALBANIANS	AWAY	L 0-52	Report
	19th	BEDFORD B(HML)	AWAY	L 5-26	Report
	26th	BUGBROOKE (FRIENDLY)	AWAY	W 24-17	Report
NOV-08	2nd	TRAINING
	9th	SARACENS B (HML)	HOME	W 17-15	Report
	16th	AMPTHILL (cup) ko 1:30	HOME	W 12-5	Report
	23rd	WELWYN	AWAY	W 24-15	Report
	30th	BISHOPS STORTFORD (HML)	AWAY	L 5-25	Report
DEC-08	7th	VERULAMIUM	AWAY	W 110-0	Report
	14th	FINCHLEY (HML) (KO 1PM)	HOME	W 37-5	Report
	21st	CHRISTMAS HOLIDAY - TRAINING ?
	28th	NEW YEAR HOLIDAY
JAN-09	4th	~~TRAINING~~		cancelled
	11th	~~BARNET (TBC)~~	~~AWAY~~	cancelled
	18th	LETCHWORTH	AWAY	L 10-17	Report
	25th	BANK OF ENGLAND (HML)	HOME	L 10-19	Report
FEB-09	1st	BIGGLESWADE (KO 11:00) -friendly	AWAY	L 12-36
	8th	~~FINCHLEY (KO 12:15)~~	~~AWAY~~	cancelled
	15th	~~BUCKINGHAM EAGLES~~	~~HOME~~	cancelled
	22nd	WELWYN B	AWAY	W 29-5	Report
MAR-09	1st	VERULAMIUM	HOME	W 57-12	Report
	8th	EALING B (HML)	AWAY	W 24-21	Report
	15th	LEIGHTON BUZZARD - friendly	AWAY	W 14-7	Report
	22nd	JUNIOR MOBBS TOWCESTER	AWAY
	29th	STEVENAGE (HML)	AWAY	W 32-7	Report
APR-09	5th	HARROW (friendly)	HOME	cancelled
	12th	EASTER HOLIDAY
	19th	RUSHDEN & HIGHAM	HOME	L 12-31	Report
	26th	BEDFORD COUNTY FINAL Bedford Ath - KO 11.00	AWAY	L 5-41	Report/Pictures
MAY-09	1st/2nd	TOUR TO CHESTER	AWAY		Report / Pictures

Under 15s Match Reports

May 2/3 2009 - U15s Chester Invitation Festival of Rugby Pictures

D's U15s went on their first tour, to the Chester Invitation Festival of Rugby, played on 2nd and 3rd May.

12 teams attended the tournament. On the first day they were split into two groups of 6. Within each group, each team played all 5 others. The highest three in each group progressing to the Cup competition on 3rd May, the lowest three in each group moving on to the Plate competition on 3rd May.
Matches were 12 minutes with no break for half time.

The only other team we knew at the tournament was Leighton Buzzard. All the other teams came from the Midlands, Cheshire/Wirral area and the north east of England.

On 2nd May D's played in the same group as Hinckley, Caldy, Anselmians, Oadby and Leighton Buzzard. D's rarely shine in tournaments as we are slow starters. Failure to catch the ball from kick off means we often start each game defending in our 22 while the opponents have possession.

2nd May - Hinckley v D's
We started this one in our normal tournament style, giving an easy early try to Hinckley and eventually losing against them 12:0.

2nd May - Anselmians v D's
In the next game against Anselmians we started more strongly, but Anselmians soon opened the scoring from a line out in the D's 22. Adam Chant scored one for D's, the final score was 12:5 to Anselmians.
Scorer for D's - Adam Chant, 5

2nd May - Leighton Buzzard v D's
Next up was the Buzzards. This was a tough game and we finally woke up. The game was mostly played between the two 22s, neither side could really get the upper hand and it ended in a 0:0 draw.

2nd May - Oadby v D's
The next game was against Oadby, they kicked off deep into our 22, we failed to make the catch, Oadby ran forward to take possession on our 5m line. We spent the first 5 minutes defending right on the try line before eventually turning them over and kicking free. D's were now showing some spirit and taking the ball into Oadby's 22. Oadby continually infringed at the ruck and we were awarded a series of free kicks and finally a penalty within kicking distance of the posts, unfortunately we failed to make the distance on the kick. D's came back at Oadby and were awarded another penalty within possible kicking distance, but again we failed to take the points.
Eventually Oadby regrouped and moved the game into the D's 22. They were awarded a penalty for the final play of the game. They kicked it over, making the final score Oadby 3, D's 0. A great recovery by D's following a difficult start.

2nd May - Caldy v D's
From reading the tournament program it seemed that Caldy, from the Wirral, are the strongest team in Cheshire. D's made a good effort, but Caldy were certainly stronger than the other teams we'd met so far. They scored two tries, one converted, to win 12:0.

Since we'd come bottom of the group, (Leighton won one game), we progressed to the Plate competition for Sunday.

3rd May - Hinckley v D's
A replay of our first game on 2nd. Hinckley kicked off, D's knocked on from the catch. From a line out on D's 22 Hinckley had Advantage and quickly got the ball over the line to open the scoring. D's responded with pressure on Hinckley from the kick off. They failed to collect the ball and D's pushed play into their 22, Dan Roberts eventually scored for D's to make it 5:5.
Hinckley scored once more to make the final score 10:5 to Hinckley.
Scorer for D's - Dan Roberts, 5

3rd May - Bishop Auckland v D's
Bishop Auckland had suffered a tough day on 2nd, losing all their games.
They were the opposite end of the spectrum to Caldy. Early on, Dale Martin stole the ball on a Bishop Auckland line out, D's quickly moved the ball across the field to Matt Anderson who ran in the try. Connor Fleet-Chapman converted. With Bishop Auckland struggling to get out of their own half, D's scored two more (Connor Fleet-Chapman and Alex Harnett), plus one conversion to make the final score 19:0 to D's.
Scorer for D's - Matt Anderson, 5
Connor Fleet-Chapman 5 + 2 + 2
Alex Harnett, 5

3rd May - Kenilworth
Now in the 8th match of the tournament, D's were fully awake and playing well. They took the game to Kenilworth and Dan Roberts scored from a free kick awarded to D's on the Kenilworth 5m line. Final score 5:0 to D's.
Scorer for D's - Dan Roberts, 5

3rd May - Chester
The D's team had watched Chester playing Kenilworth and observed poor handling but a couple of very fast players. The format of the game was predictable with Chester making rapid breaks down the wing. They eventually scored and we could not make a reply within the short game time, making the final score 5:0 to Chester.

3rd May - Leighton Buzzard
Back to play Leighton, for the 4th time this season! Again, the sides were pretty evenly matched. Leighton opened the scoring. D's responded when Will Malewicz broke free of a maul on the Buzzards 5m line, dummied the Buzzards No 11 and stepped over the line. Final score was 5:5.
Scorer for D's - William Malewicz, 5

Overall we came 3rd in the Plate competition, one place above Leighton Buzzard. D's U15s know that tournaments aren't their strong point, but when we finally woke the games were close and we were pretty much equal to all the other teams there, except Caldy. We'd do better if we could reliably catch the ball from kick off and not start games defending in our 22!

Everyone had a good time, the rain stayed away, some of the parents got sun tanned and we all had an opportunity to socialise with people we usually only meet on Sunday mornings.

Many thanks to Gina for overall organisation. Thanks to Amanda for great catering. Thanks to Tim for helping with the payments. Thanks to Doug and Richard for turning a bunch of 15 year old guys into something that looks like a rugby team ...on their day. And finally thanks to the touring team who, after a slow start, put in a great effort and ensured we finished above Leighton Buzzard.

Match April 26th 2009 - U15s v Bedford A - Bed U15s Cup Final Pictures

Having beaten Ampthill in the semi-finals of the Beds U15 Cup, Dunstable met Bedford A in the final. The match was played at Bedford Athletic RFC in fine weather. It was always going to be a tough one for D's. Bedford played the 08/09 season in Division 1 of the Saracens Herts & Middlesex league, D's played in Division 4.

Bedford scored their first try after about 10 minutes, followed by another which was converted. Then as Bedford attacked again, 5m from the D's try line, D's captain Connor Fleet-Chapman intercepted a Bedford pass and ran the full length of the field to touch down. D's were unable to convert and Bedford scored two more times, without conversion to make the half time score 22:5.

D's made a few changes in the second half and opened well. But they were unable to break down Bedford's defence. D's were having to pack the centre of the field to hold Bedford back, but this meant that once Bedford won possession, there was plenty of space on the wings for them to gain ground. Bedford scored 3 more tries in the second half, converting 2, with no reply from D's.

The final score was Bedford A 41 Dunstable 5.

D's did their best, and everyone who played on the day, the players on the bench, and the supporters, can be proud of D's performance.

Next stop, Chester Festival of Rugby on the Bank Holiday weekend!

Match April 19th 2009 - U15s v Rushden & Highams

Following 3 weeks without a games, D's U15s hosted Rushden & Higham in thier final home game of the season, following the withdrawal of Buckingham due to a clash with a Bucks County match. The last time the two teams met in torrential rain in December 2007 and Dees travelled with only 16 players, Rushden won the match convincingly 47-0.

From the kick off, it was fairly evident that D's had not played for 3 weeks, as they looked well off the pace in all areas of the game, withstanding sustained pressure from Rushden who were gaining the majority of the possession, which resulted in three well worked tries, two converted, stretching D's accross the pitch, as Rushden attacked with ball in hand at every opportunity. D's were also forced to make two substitutions with their full back and No8 leaving the field.

As the first half progressed, the referee had to stop the game to call the captains together, as the game started to get niggly on both sides, with D's becoming more frustrated with the perceived tactics of the opposition, resulting in one of the D's second rows being given 10 minutes in the bin. With the first half drawing to a close, the first signs of some forward momentum from D's resulted in 5 metre scrum. Following a number of infringements from Rushden at the scrum, D's were awarded a penalty try, which they were unable to convert with the last kick of the half.

HT: Dunstablians 5 - Rushden & Higham 19

Following a number of substitutions and a severe half time team talk from the coaches, D's started the second half more positively, showing much better ball retention and intensity.

Now with some sustained pressure and momentum, D's were now starting to play some rugby, pushing Rushden back up the pitch to just outside the Rushden 22, when the ball was moved quickly through the backs to the D's full back, Matt Anderson who was now back on the pitch for him to cut through the Rushden defence to score his 25th try of the season under the posts. D's captain Connor Fleet-Chapman deputising as the D's kicker slotted over the conversion to put D's within a converted try of their opponents.

For whatever reason, this score seemed to reignite Rushden, firstly resulting in a number of over enthusiastic tackles with their fly half being sent to the bin, but also with them coming back at D's and scoring two further tries through their forwards, one of which was converted. Continued pressure from Rushden and some desperate defending by D's resulted in the ball being held up on or over the tryline on the 3 separate occasions.

With the temperature of the game increasing, the referee called the captains together again to ask the players to calm down. Play continued with Rushden pushing forward again with one breakaway looking like another certain try, until the attack stopped outside the D's 22 through some good cover play by 2 of the D's back three.

With play in its closing stages, Rushden attacked down into the corner of the pitch with the ball carrier being put into touch by D's, just before the try line, where the referee sensibly blew his whistle for full time with frustrations heightened on both sides.

FT: Dunstablians 12 - Rushden & Higham 31

Match March 29th 2009 - U15s v Stevenage

Dunstable U15s played Stevenage today in their final Saracens Herts & Middlesex League game of the season. Stevenage have lost all their HML games to date. With the change to Summer Time everyone managed to arrive for the 11:00 kick-off but the game seemed to be played at a bit of a leisurely pace, so maybe the players were all there, but not quite fully awake. D's opened the scoring just five minutes into the game when they picked the ball from a scrum on the Stevenage 22, quickly moved it across the backs to winger, Alex Harnett, who finished the move by running it in. Ten minutes later, from a scrum in the centre of the field on the Stevenage 5m line, D's No 9, Sam Heley, made a nice sideways run towards the wing, offloaded to Alex Harnett who did the work to score the second try. With Stevenage struggling to get out of their half, D's continued to apply pressure. Just over 20 minutes into the half, following a line-out on the Stevenage 22, play moved to a ruck on the Stevenage 5m line. Hooker, Will Malewicz, broke free with the ball, offloaded to winger James Rochester who made the final few metres over the line. The referee blew for half time, it seemed a short half. The score was: Stevenage 0: Dunstable 15. Ten minutes into the second half and D's had a line out on the Stevenage 5m line. This time, D's Prop, Matt Nouch, did the hard work and rumbled over the line to score a nice "Prop Style" try. Matt Anderson scored the next one for D's, following a scrum in the centre of the pitch from where he ran the ball the whole 50m.
Alex Cahill finally had some luck with his kicking and added the 2 points.
Stevenage then began a stronger period of play when they pushed D's back 30m with a rolling maul. D's finally managed to stop the Stevenage advance and kicked to clear their lines. From a scrum on the Stevenage 5m line, Harry Bishop, now on as No 9, made a quick pass out to the backs which was slipped along to Alex Harnett to score his hat-trick. With the score 32:0, D's relaxed a bit and Stevenage fought back to get a line-out on the D's 22.
After some ground-work Stevenage finally managed to get the ball over and kick the conversion. D's replied by pushing Stevenage back into their 22 but the referee, who we later discovered was the Stevenage U15s coach, soon blew the final whistle. He'd played a nominal 25 minutes each way and said he'd done so by prior agreement with D's - which was incorrect, there'd been no such agreement and HML rules state the game is 30 minutes each way with no option of agreeing an alternative. In any case, the game ended with the final score Stevenage 7 : Dunstable 32.

Match March 15th 2009 - U15s v Leighton Buzzard

Dunstable U15s travelled to Leighton Buzzard today to play a friendly. We'd last played Leighton in Feb 08, as U14s, and drawn 5:5, so a tight game was expected.

D's started playing "downhill" on Leighton Buzzard's sloping pitch. However, they seem to start with a hang over from last week's win and looked slow and leisurely. With a lack of intensity at the ruck and lack of spark from the backs, D's were frequently losing ball to Leighton and when they did get possession failed to make much of it. Most of the first half was played in D's territory, with D's defending Leighton's attacks. Leighton opened the scoring and converted.

Eventually D's woke up and raised the intensity. Consequently the last few minutes of the first half were played in Leighton territory, but the first half ended Leighton 7, Dunstable 0.

After words from the coaches at half time, D's stated the 2nd half more alert and built the intensity throughout the remainder of the game. Matt Anderson opened the scoring for D's, and Alex Cahill added the 2 points.

With Leighton now struggling to get out of their own half, Dan Roberts scored D's second try, which was converted by Alex Cahill.

Near the end of the game D's had a penalty opportunity which Alex Cahill thought was within kicking range.
Unfortunately Alex was unable to repeat his penalty kick from last weeks game and the match ended Leighton Buzzard 7 : Dunstable 14.

Match March 8th 2009 - U15s v Ealing B

D's travelled to London to play Ealing B, who started the game undefeated and 2nd in Division 4 of the Saracens Herts & Middlesex League.

It was a sunny clear day, with a strong wind blowing from the west. Ealing decided to play into the wind for the first half.

With the wind behind their backs, D's kicks were flying deep into Ealing territory and after about 15 minutes Alex Cahill opened the scoring for D's following one such deep kick. He also took the conversion, a tricky one out by the touch line, but won the extra two points to make the score Ealing 0 :D's 7.

Ealing replied with some consistent pressure and a couple of minutes later, thought they'd scored, but the referee judged the ball was held up.
Ealing then managed to touch down following a scrum on the D's 5m line and converted, against the wind, with the ball just sneaking in past the post to bring the score to 7:7.

5 minutes later with the play deep in Ealing territory, Connor Fleet-Chapman took the ball over for D's, and Alex Cahill added the 2 points to bring the score at half time to Ealing 7 : D's 14.

D's played the second half into the wind. Following a scrum at the centre line, Matt Anderson, D's leading scorer this season, made a powerful run in, grounding the ball under the posts. Alex Cahill took the conversion and added the 2 points.

Five minutes later Ealing replied following a penalty 10m from the D's line. Ealing converted to bring the score to Ealing 14: D's 21.

D's then slackened the pressure a bit and Ealing came back with another converted try, bringing the score level with ten minutes to go.

D's woke up and applied more pressure to Ealing. This resulted in a penalty opportunity for D's: 20m out from the Ealing line and 10m from touch. D's captain, Connor Fleet-Chapman called for a kick at goal. The referee said that if the ball went over, this would be the final play. Alex Cahill stepped up to take his first penalty kick in a league game; magically the wind dropped, and Alex kicked the ball true to take the 3 points and seal the win for D's at Ealing 21: D's 24.

The teams were very evenly matched and provided a lot of entertainment, and tension, for the spectators. Ealing had a more mobile set of forwards and a much more reliable line out than D's. D's, once they had control at the ruck, and slowed things down, had a more effective set of backs and maybe had the edge in ball handling. Neither side disgraced themselves in one of the closest and most entertaining games D's have played this season.

Final score: Ealing B 21 : Dunstable 24

Match March 1st 2009 - U15s v Old Verulamium

Dunstable hosted Old Verulamians for our second fixture this season, however, OV's were only able to field 8 players due to unavailabilities and dwindling numbers, so a number D's players were asked to turn out for OV's to even things out. Conditions were perfect for a game of rugby, with D's playing up the slope in the first half.

Dunstable started looking very much in control and scored after 8 minutes when Stuart Caines scored his first try for the club from a ruck, as D's were camped in the OV's 22. No conversion.

With OV's in control in the scrum, D's were having to gain possession in the loose from which full back Matt Anderson was able to gather a loose ball and run through the advancing OV's to score under the posts.Scrum half Harry Bishop converted.

OV's were now starting to put together some good phases with a good handing move presenting their first clear scoring opportunity, with Kyle Pettit outpacing the D's defence to score under the posts, which was converted.

D's continued to control the breakdowns resulting in two tries for winger James Rochester. Both were converted by Connor Fleet-Chapman and Harry Bishop.

OV's were now starting to find some shape, forcing D's back into their 22 and from the resulting scrum, the ball went out to Alex Cahill, who sent over a crossfield kick deep into the left hand corner, which was gathered and try scored by Alex Harnett. No conversion.
Half time score 26-12 to Dunstablians
Following a lenghty half time break to swap over players, both teams took some time to put some phases of play together, with the first purposeful attack, coming after 10 minutes resulting in Alex Harnett, now back playing for D's at centre, scoring the first try of the half, which was converted by Alex Cahill.

Play continued to change between the sides, with D's attack being turned over, with the ball being kicked back into the D's half. Gathering the kick, Matt Anderson ran the ball back in the OV's half through a number of tackles, to score his 2nd try under the posts. Alex Cahill scored the conversion. Five minutes later, he was able to score his 3rd try, through picking up another clearance kick from OV's.

D's were now in control of all areas of the game with James Rochester also scoring his third try under the posts following some good forwards play and some quick passing. Alex Cahill again converted the conversion.

Now into the last 5 minutes, D's continued to put pressure on OV's, moving up the field into scoring range, however, the ball was turned over again, with the ball being kicked out of defence for Matt Anderson to again run back through OV's defence, passing to Alex Harnett as they approached the try line for the final score of the match. No conversion.
Final score D's 57 : OVs 12.

Match Feb 21st 2009 - U15s v Welwyn B

Dunstable travelled to Welwyn for our second fixture this season against Welwyn B's. Conditions were perfect for a game of rugby.

Dunstable started looking very much in control and scored after 5 minutes when Will Malewicz carried the ball over the line following a penalty awarded to D's just outside the Welwyn 5m line. Dan Roberts kicked the conversion from a tricky angle.

D's kept control and Richard Fish soon scored the next try with a run from outside the Welwyn 22. Matt Anderson then scored a 3rd try with another nice run in. D's then went a bit quiet and the scoring stopped for the rest of the half. D's failed to collect the ball from kick off, and Welwyn spent about 15 minutes in the D's 22 before they finally scored.

D's never really regained the momentum they'd shown at the start of the first half, but they scored again when Dale Martin won a lineout ball 5m from the Welwyn try line, the ball was quickly passed through several hands to Richard Fish who took it over the line for his 2nd try of the day.

Welwyn came close to scoring one more time after a period of play inside the D's 5m line. But D's managed to hold off Welwyn and Richard Fish scored one more time to get his hat trick. Dan Roberts converted this one to make the final score D's 29 : Welwyn B 5.

Match Jan 25th 2009 - U15s v Bank of England

Dunstable were hosts to Bank of England U15s today for a Saracens Herts & Middlesex league game. Bank of England are currently unbeaten leaders of Division 4, having 164 points in 4 games. D's U15s started the game 5th in Division 4.

The game was played in very slippery, muddy conditions making ball handling tricky and difficult for the runners to stay on their feet.
From the start D's put pressure on BoE and didn't allow them to get into a dominant position. BoE scored first with a nice breakaway run from their winger. They converted to make the score 7:0 in BoE's favour.
D's soon replied with a similar try, a breakaway run down the wing by James Rochester. However we failed to convert. BoE scored again, with another run in by the same player who'd scored their first. The score at half time was Ds 5 BoE 12. D's had been playing very well in the first half, so no changes were made for the start of the second half.
Unfortunately D's soon conceded another try to BoE, after some loose defending by D's just 5m in front of their try line. However from the restart most of the remainder of the 2nd half was played in BoE's half of the pitch as D's applied relentless pressure, and BoE defended firmly. After about 20 minutes when the ball rarely left the BoE half, D's got their reward when James Rochester dived over the line to make the final score D's 10: BoE 19

Match Jan 18th 2009 - U15s v Letchworth

D's U15s travelled to Letchworth today for a friendly fixture. Letchworth U15s are two divisions above D's in the Herts & Middlesex league.

For the first half both sides put their strongest squad onto the pitch. Letchworth showed their class with some nice moves which gave them 3 tries and while D's weren't overwhelmed they couldn't get a score from the posession they had. The first half ended with Letchworth leading 17 to 0.

In the second half both teams introduced some of their weaker players onto the field. D's scored from a nice run by Matthew Anderson, but failed to convert in windy conditions. Letchworth made some more team changes but were unable to break down the D's defence.
Richard Fish scored for D's following a nicely worked move from a scrum inside the Letchworth 22.

The final score was Letchworth 17: D's 10.

Match Dec 14th - U15s v Finchley

Playing only their 3rd home game of the season, D's U15s played Finchley in their 4th HML match, where a win was crucial for both teams ambitions to be promoted from Division 4, with Finchley in 5th place, one place and one point ahead of Dunstablians.

Having cut their squad to 22 in line with HML rules, D’s were forced to reshuffle their starting 15 following the late withdrawal of their starting fly half through illness and the late arrival of their hooker.

With heavy overnight rain over the previous day, the pitch was going to be heavy going, with a number of water pools on the pitch. D's kicked off the match playing down the slopping pitch.

Just as in the previous game, D’s started strongly with Finchley defending inside their half during the opening minutes of the match and following some good ruck play by D’s, James Rochester was able to pick up from the back of the ruck and sprint down the touchline, past the covering defence and score the first try. No conversion. Score 5-0.

Now 5-0 down, Finchley were now starting to take the game to D’s, who through a number of phases were now defending manfully outside of their 22, however following some quick ruck ball Finchley were able to spin the ball out to their danger man at outside centre, who broke though the D’s defense to score. No conversion. Score 5-5.

Over the next ten minutes, the game developed into a war of attrition with no side creating any clear cur opportunities, with possession swinging between the sides, with the next score being crucial.

Midway through the first half, the D’s pack was now starting to regain some momentum, winning their own ball on the halfway line resulting in their backs setting off down field, with the ball ending up with the D’s full back Matt Anderson, who had joined the line, breaching the Finchley defence and scoring under the posts. Connor Fleet-Chapman taking over the kicking duties in the absence of their regular kicker, slotted over the conversion. Score 12-5.

With the D's pack increasing the pressure on Finchley, the ball came out to Connor Fleet-Chapman, who placed a superb kick, deep into the Finchley half, just outside their 22, which their full back failed to deal with allowing James Rochester to collect the ball and pass to Richard Fish, who was able to evade the covering tacklers and score in the left hand corner. No conversion. Score 17-5.

Now approaching half time, D’s were now looking for their fourth try and their 1st league bonus point.

As the referee signaled the last play of the half, D’s took the opportunity to spin the ball one last time from a scrum just outside the Finchley 22, with Matt Anderson the recipient of the final pass, going over in the right hand corner. No conversion.

Half time score 22-5 to Dunstablians.

At half time, D's made two substitutions in the pack, who had worked tirelessly during the first half.

The second half started with D's still dominating possession, but with Finchley now playing down the sloping pitch they were able to gain some momentum without creating any real scoring opportunities.

D’s then set off up the pitch going through the phases, which resulted in the referee awarding them a number of penalties, with the final one inside the Finchley 22. The ball was passed to Dan Roberts, who had come on at half time, who bulldozed his way through the Finchley defence to score. Score 27-5.

Finchley were then forced to take off their injured their injured try scorer, with D’s making two further substitutions.

Now entering the last quarter, with D’s continuing to dominate the game and move up the field, and winning some quick ball, the ball was passed out to the D’s captain, Connor Fleet-Chapman, who was able side step through the Finchley midfield and through last ditch tackles to score. After picking himself up, he was unable to convert his own try. Score 32-5.

From the restart, Finchley were looking to play the game in D’s half, with a couple of kicks, out of defence for their runners to chase.

Catching one of their kicks on the D’s 22, full back Matt Anderson set off through the oncoming Finchley players first going left and then right, wrong footing his opposition and past the covering winger and full back to score his third try of the game under the posts. No conversion. Score 37-5.

The game was now entering its final phase, with Finchley now coming back into the game, and winning some good line out ball and passing the ball out, they were awarded a penalty for D’s being offside.

Finchley took the penalty quickly and ran back through the D’s defence for what looked like a certain try as he approached the 22, with the D’s full back covering the left touch line, however the he was able to track back across the pitch, stopping the Finchley attack, 10 yards in front of the D’s try line, with D’s then defending their line until the end of the game.

Final score 37-5

Another thoroughly entertaining game, with D's now maturing as a team and able to take control of an evenly balanced game, doing the basics, putting some good work and phases together and using the width of the pitch and speed of their backs.

An early Christmas present for the watching parents, supporters and coaches ending 2008 on a high, having won 6 of their last 7 games, scoring 229 points and conceding 82.

Match Dec 7th - U15s v Old Verulamiums

D's U15s travelled to St Albans to play Old Verulamiums, hoping to get back to winning ways after their HML defeat against Bishops Stortford, the previous week. Overnight frost had put the game in doubt, but the game was able to take place after a 10 minute delay for the pitch to soften.

D's kicked off the match playing down the sloping pitch. From the first whistle, D's took the game to OV's, with a few good phases, resulting with the ball coming out to James Rochester who was able to speed down the left wing and touch down within the first two minutes. He repeated this feat a few minutes later when he picked up the ball in open play and ran through OV's defence to score under the posts, which Alex Cahill converted.

With the D's pack dominating possession led by Richard Fish, the backs were receiving lots of ball, which they were able to run back at OV's with both Connor Fleet Chapman and Adam Chant breaking through the OV's defence to score in quick succession with Alex Cahill converting both tries.

As the first half continued, D's were able to control the game, with OV's rarely coming out of their half and D's pack driving the ball forward enabling the ball to be spun out to James Rochester to complete his hat trick. The second quarter of the game saw D's further extend their lead with further tries from Adam Chant 2 and Matt Anderson scoring just before half time. One additional conversion from Alex Cahill made the half time score 48-0.

At half time, D's took the opportunity to use the whole of the squad that had travelled down to the match, with the chance of improving on their highest score now looking possible.

The second half started with D's still dominating possession, but with OV's now playing down the sloping pitch they were able to gain some momentum, particularly in the rucks without creating any real scoring oppotunities. This seemed to galvanise D's to restart where they had finished in the first half with some quick ball allowing Connor Fleet-Chapman and Matt Anderson to add further tries both converted by Alex Cahill.

With OV's starting to tire, D's upped the pressure with some good work from the forwards, with charging runs from James Randell and Danny Hillyard and ball retrieval from Ashleigh Barnard and D's were able to run in further tries through some swift handling and straight direct running in the backs through Matt Anderson 2, Alex Harnett 2 and Connor Fleet-Chapman with two being converted by Alex Cahill.

As D's were now well into the last quarter of the game, they had surpassed their highest ever score and were now approaching 100 points for the first time. Following some quick ball from the forwards, Alex Cahill was able to execute a superb cross field kick deep into OV's 22, which winger Harry Manning was able to gather and touch down for his first try of the season, replicating a similar try scored against OV's the previous year. This made the score 96-0 with only a few minutes to go.

D's continued to push for more points and from a scrum in the OV's half, the ball was spun out to full back Matt Anderson who sped through the OV's defence and touched down under the posts for his fifth try of the game to make it 101-0 followed by Alex Cahill's 9th conversion.However, D's were not finished and straight from the kick off, second row Dale Martin caught the ball inside his own half and set off up the pitch, through OV's forwards and then through their backs, to score his first competitive try in 6 years. Coverted by Alex Cahill.

Final score 110-0.

A thoroughly entertaining game, where D's scored 18 tries through some good forward play and backs passing well and running straight, but praise must be given to OV's, who despite the scoreline did continue to compete and play and did not let their heads go down.

Match Nov 30th - U15s v Bishops Stortford

D's U15s were away to Bishops Stortford B for a Herts & Middlesex league game today. The game was played in rainy conditions and several D's players who are normally in the squad were unable to play.

D's opened the game with a strong period of play in the Bishops Stortford half, but were unable to make any scoring opportunities as Bishops Stortford defended effectively. Bishops Stortford scored twice in the first half, failing to convert either try. D's opened the scoring in the first half when James Rochester intercepted a pass outside the Bishops Stortford 22 and ran it in. D's failed to convert. With Bishops Stortford's A team game cancelled a few A team players were bought on in the second half, giving Bishops Stortford a definite edge over D's and allowing them to score 3 more and end up winners 25:5. Overall D's were a bit quiet at the rucks today, failed to create much when they did have possession and didn't defend as strongly as Bishops Stortford. It wasn't a bad performance by D's, they worked hard, but have done better.
Final score: Bishops Stortford 25 Dunstable 5

Match Nov 23rd - U15s v Welwyn

D's U15s played a friendly at Welwyn today, which was a chance for the players who've not featured in the league games and our recent cup game to get on the field. The match was played in cold, muddy conditions.
Overnight snow had melted and been replaced by rain, leaving a thin layer of slimey mud coating the pitch, ... and later the ball, the players and the spectators.

D's opened the scoring after about 10 mins with a long run by Matthew Anderson, who had time to put the ball down between the posts. With our usual No 10 on the subs bench, Dan Roberts took the kick and converted.
Another fine run in by Matthew Anderson a few minutes later saw D's go 12:0 up. Unfortunately Dan missed the conversion. Defensive errors by D's soon allowed Welwyn to claw back 5 points, but D's soon responded with Kyle Pettit taking a nice catch and running in the try down the wing. Again, poor defending let D's down and Welwyn touched down two more times to make the score 17:15 at the break. Several team changes were made at half time. By now the conditions were very slippery making ball handling tricky and players were struggling to stay on their feet.
James Rochester scored for D's, following a long run down the left wing, Alex Cahill took the kick and converted to make the final score Dunstable 24, Welwyn 15.

Match Nov 16th - U15s v Ampthill

D's U15s were drawn to play Amtphill at home in the Beds County Cup. The fixture wasn't known to us until Ampthill called at the start of week asking if it could be played on 16th November. Ampthill are currently 3rd in Division 2 of the Saracens Herts & Middlesex U15s League, D's are 5th in the 4th Division: we were expecting a tough game.

The game was played in cool, wet & slippery conditions.

From the opening D's showed they weren't to be dominated by an Ampthill side which contained several county players. Ampthill opened the scoring after about 10 minutes, but failed to convert. D's remained organised and focussed, continued to dominate the scrum and both rucked and tackled with energy. With D's forwards playing well, the backs also got plenty of ball and forced Ampthill to play defensively for long periods. James Rochester's speed down the wing caused problems for Ampthill and showed D's intent to come back. Arron Croft played a terrific game at second row, frequently carrying the ball forward over the hard metres among the forwards. Richard Fish played an excellent game at flanker, winning turn over ball and putting in great defensive tackles.

After 22 minutes D's got their reward when Dan Roberts charged down an Ampthill clearance just outside their 22, kicked the ball on and ran on to it to touch down. D's missed the conversion, but were back even with Ampthill. The first half ended 5:5.

Ampthill started the second half with a bit of an edge over D's, but more strong forward play by D's put Ampthill under pressure and they rarely looked like the composed and organised team we've seen in past fxtures. D's pressure was rewarded when a long run in my Matt Anderson got a touch down under the posts, allowing an easy conversion for Alex Cahill. D's maintained the pressure on Ampthill for the remainder of the game which ended with D's 12 : 5 winners.

Overall it was a great team effort by D's U15s who've shown what they can do when they play as a team and keep focussed and cool when the pressure is on.

Match Nov 9th - U15s v Saracens B

D's played Saracens B today in their second Herts & Middlesex league game.

D's opened the scoring following a great run down the wing by James Rochester who passed the ball to Matthew Anderson just before the line allowing Matthew to make the touch down. D's missed the conversion and Saracens responded with 2 tries, but failed to convert either one, bringing the score to 5:10 in Saracen's favour.

D's battled back with Matthew Anderson scoring again, and Alex Cahill converting to give D's a 2 point lead.

Matthew Anderson scored again, from a long run in, but we failed to convert.

By now D's were 7 points ahead, but Saracens pushed hard to score a further try in the last minutes of the game. Saracens were unable to convert, giving D's a win at 17:15.

Sam Heley worked well behind the pack today; Josh Hooker came on as flanker in the second half, played very well and gave his best performance since joining D's at the start of the season.

Match Oct 26th - U15s v Bugbrooke

D's U15s travelled to Bugbrooke today for a friendly game. These sides are usually quite evenly matched and provide a good contest; today was no exception. Bugbrooke were the better team in the first half, while D's made many errors. Poor passes, dropped balls and dodgy decisions by D's allowed Bugbrooke to end the half 10:0 ahead. Without changes to the team: D's played better in the second half with Alex Harnett and Dan Roberts soon scoring, with one conversion by Alex Cahill to make the score 12:10 in favour of D's. Bugbrooke then replied with another try and conversion to take the lead again. In the final 10 minutes of the game, D's applied more pressure on Bugbrooke which brought tries for James Rochester and Matt Anderson and one more conversion by Alex Cahill. The second half revival was very much a team effort, by everyone from No 1 to No 15. D's made no substitutions in the game: thanks are due to the players who watched the whole game from the bench (and to their parents who drove them to the game). Their support was valuable in helping the guys on the field to recover twice from a potentially losing score.

Match Oct 19th - U15s v Bedford B

D's U15s travelled to Bedford today to play Bedford B in their first H&M League game. D's and Bedford B is usually a pretty well matched game.
Today Bedford turned out winners at Bedford B 26 : Dunstable 5. The difference being that Bedford B were better than D's at using the ball after the ruck and their defence was solid. Today's lesson for D's U15s:
don't panic on winning possession at the breakdown, take control and execute a plan.

There's a special mention today for two D's players. Dale Martin for consistent catching in the line-out and Harry Bishop, who came on as sub at No 9, only the second time he's played this position, and made a great job of it.

Match Oct 12th - U15s v Old Albanians

D's U15s travelled to Old Albanians today to play their A team. A tough challenge was expected for D's as Old Albanians A play in Division 1 of the Herts & Middlesex league, whereas D's have just joined the league in Division 4. The game was bound to be D's doing what they could to hold back Old Albanians. Old Albanians had most of possession in the first half and ran in 4 tries against us. In the first 15 minutes of the second half, D's did manage to get some possession, but Old Albanians defence was effective and D's were unable to cause much of a problem for them. In this period Old Albanians were awarded another couple of tries, although one looked as if the ball was dropped rather than touched down. By this time D's were tired from constant defending and Old Albanians still looking relatively fresh ran in four more, two of which were converted. The final score was Old Albanians 52, D's 0. There was no lack of effort from D's, they were beaten by a fit and well drilled team who are playing at a higher level.

Match Sept 26th - U15s v Luton
U15s played a friendly away to Luton. Out first floodlight fixture. Due to injuries, two players under a match ban and some absent on Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, we couldn't field our strongest side against a powerful and skilful Luton team. Although Ds were beaten 60:0 they played much better than in the preceding weeks' game. The under strength pack generally held their own in the scrum and we saw some nice moves from the backs, who played with confidence and created some good attacking plays. Luton scored 4 tries in the first half, but constant defending tired the D's guys and in the second half Luton were dominant. The game was played in a much better spirit than the Harpenden game. We hope the lesson of indiscipline has been learned.

Match Sept 21st - U15s v Harpenden
U15s played a training game away at Harpenden. The final score was D's 12 Harpenden 17. Scorers for D's were: Alex Harnett 5, Alex Cahill 2, Connor Fleet-Chapman 5. We were leading through most of the game but indiscipline cost us a penalty try, which was converted, and we had one man sent off. The game was played in warm sunny conditions, but was mostly a battle of the forwards. D's backs weren't on very good form, maybe due to lack of confidence or game practice at the start of the season.

Last seasons results here

Fixtures/Results: Mini/Junior Under 15's:

Fixtures/Results: Mini/Junior

Under 15's: