Sat 4 Dec 2021, 14:00
North Dorset travelled to Blandford, who are currently top of the league, expecting a challenging game and they were not disappointed. From the kick-off, Blandford attacked and were camped in North's 22 for some considerable time but were held out by a steely defence, which was rewarded with a penalty. A great touch kick took North Dorset to the halfway line, and from the line-out, North Dorset pressed hard, and it was Blandford's turn to defend. Following a good movement combining forwards and backs, flanker Charlie Jobling forced his way over the line for a try which was not converted 0 - 5.
The game then ebbed and flowed, with Blandford missing a penalty kick in front of the posts and Dorset's Lewis Munster slotting a massive penalty from the halfway line 0 - 8. Blandford attacked hard but were held out, leading to a good counter-attack and an excellent follow up by Dorset's wing Jake Canning resulting in a try converted by Sam Jones 0 - 15. Once again, Blandford put the Dorset line under threat, successful this time with an unconverted try, bringing us to halftime and a score of 5 - 15.
The second half started with a bang, Blandford putting together an excellent back's move and scoring in the corner 10 - 15. This gave the home side a huge lift, and the game was primarily played in Dorset's half until, in a counter-attack, Blandford were penalised, and with a problematic kick, Sam Jones brought the score to 10 - 18 With 15 minutes to go, Blandford threw everything into attack in an attempt to salvage the game but Dorset's defence was equal to the job until the very last minute when Blandford forced their way over under the posts to score a converted try, which brought the score to 17 - 18 as the whistle blew, much to the delight of Dorset Players and their large body of travelling support.
