National Two South

Dorking 11

Cornish All Blacks 8

Big Field, Kiln Lane

LAUNCESTON were denied a deserved share of the spoils by a last-gasp Dorking penalty at the Big Field on Saturday.

The all but doomed Cornish all Blacks put up one hell of a fight against their fellow relegation threatened hosts, but Matt Noble struck with a penalty two minutes from time to win the game and extend the visitors’ winless run.

The All Blacks put up a stubborn rearguard action and played the muddy conditions well, but were ultimately undone at the death.

Dorking, with four straight defeats going into the game, would have seen the clash as a simple chance for four and maybe five points, but it was anything but.

In fact, they had to grind out the result in the end, with Noble scoring all of his side’s points — the late penalty adding to the penalty and try he scored in the first half.

After a pointless — metaphorically and literally — first 25 minutes, Noble took advantage of Launceston having a man in the bin to slot a penalty for the first points of the match.

But Launceston belied their position at the bottom of the table, and hit straight back, taking the lead with a fine attacking move down the right with Fred Bulut eventually claiming the score that went unconverted following a series of rolling mauls.

However, Dorking led going into the half-time interval, although it was very unlucky from a Cornish point of view.

A speculative Cameron Pimlow kick forward looked simple for the away side to deal with, but it bounced nicely for Noble to claim ahead of the Cornish defender and scoot over for a try that he failed to convert.

The second half was a turgid affair, with Dorking unable to use their fast, expansive rugby to any sort of effect, and the Cornish All Blacks were always in the game and drew level when Sam Chapman converted a penalty.

But two minutes from time, with Launceston pinged for not rolling away, Noble went for the posts with a long kick, splitting them in two for the winning three points.

Dorking —Try: Noble Pens: Noble x2

Cornish All Blacks —Try: Bulut. Pen: S Chapman

• THIS weekend, the Cornish All Blacks return to Polson Bridge where they play host to Redingensians.

It seems, with recent performances, that a win, or at least another draw, is on it’s way for Launceston. It is likely to be too little too late for survival in National Two South, but it would certainly go a long way to boosting morale at the club.

Kick off at Polson Bridge is at 2.30pm.