The Old Cranleighans ran in eight tries to beat Buxton 50-0 in the final of the RFU Junior Vase at a sun-baked Twickenham in front of a large and vocal OC crowd. It was a game as one sided as has been seen at headquarters for some time. Buxton had no answer to the speed of Cranleigh’s backs and the fierce and unrelenting tackling. They never seriously threatened to score, were constantly harried into errors and the advantage of their much bigger pack was completely nullified.
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The Old Cranleighans came into the final as slight underdogs, although they had recorded impressive wins at London Welsh and Widden Old Boys on the way to Twickenham, and also secured the Surrey 1 title. Buxton had won all 25 matches this season including ending Wetherby’s remarkable 58-game unbeaten run in the semi-finals of this competition.
Buxton were under the cosh from the kick-off and it was not until the 23rd minute that they made it into the OC’s 22. Early pressure told when Ben O’Neill piled over from close range after a well-worked line-out with Connor Brown’s conversion making it 7-0 after four minutes. Eleven minutes later, following a period of sustained pressure, the forwards set up influential scrum-half Jumbo Jupp to jink through a space from four yards out, and Brown’s kick extended the lead to 14-0.
Buxton defended solidly but were unable to relieve their lines, their backs being constantly hit with some fearsome tackle. The relentless pressure told again on the half hour when wing Sam Dorman received the ball 30 yards out and broke through some poor tackling for the third try on the half hour.
The OCs came close to fourth try shortly before the break when Rich Irving wriggled over from close range but the referee rightly decided he had made two movements off the ground to score.
The second half started as the first had ended and within two minutes the game was all but sealed with a clinical counterattack from a Buxton kick, Brett Chatwin juggling the ball on the touchline and breaking two tackles to set up Max Rowson for the score. Brown, who had missed two penalties in the first half, landed a huge kick from close to the touchline to make it 26-0.
Buxton then enjoyed their best period of the game, finally putting the OCs under pressure, albeit without coming close to scoring, and any momentum they managed to build spoiled by some poor handling.
With the large banks of Cranleighan support in increasingly loud voice, the OCs again pressed hard, and with the conditions taking a toll on both sides the spaces started to appear. Adam Bontus’ surging break through midfield after a quick move from a scrum midway in the OC half set up Dormon for his second try and then in the 62nd minute hooker Matthew Dawes showed remarkable pace to burst through the line, releasing the surging Dormon who went over in the corner for his hat trick.
To their credit Buxton never let their heads drop, still trying to use their forwards to batter holes in an unyielding defence. Their best moves were continually undone by sloppy handling, and too often they were forced back into their own half by quick breaks.
In the 75th minute, Dormon, who had fractured his jaw in the quarter-final win over London Welsh and had only been passed fit to play earlier in the week, scored his fourth with a jinking run from the halfway line, converting the try himself to make it 45-0.
Within 25 seconds of the re-start Chatwin brought up the 50 points, receiving the ball inside his own half and sprinting through a tired defence to score with a flourish. It was the fifth time OC try in the left-hand corner.
“Playing at Twickenham was incredible for us as a team and I feel lucky to have contributed,” Dorman said. “I was lucky enough to get on the end of a few moves from our backs and this pitch was just perfect for us to play the running rugby we wanted.”
Old Cranleighans: Tom Collier, Matthew Dawes, Dennis Kwist, Luke Rose, Tom Garland, James McLaughlin, Max Rowson, Ben O’Neill (c), Jumbo Jupp, Mark Langford, Sam Dormon, Adam Bontus, Rich Irving, Conor Brown, Brett Chatwin. Replacements: Duncan Head, Charlie Blurton, Nacho Fernandez, Simon Steer, Paul Arthur, Benjie Walters, Christian Larsmon.
Buxton: Simeon Meek, Michael Pullen, Benjamin Rosamond, Ryan McCoy, Josh De Groot (c), Ian Scott, Ben Austin, Kieran Wain, Jamie Lowery, Adam Holland, Ryan Sircar, Dean Wagstaffe, Alex Edwards, James Torrance, Greg Mellor. Replacements: George Stone, Conor McHale, Daniel Corthorne, Gavin Passey, Matthew Lomas, Oliver Golden, Sam Edwards.