Written By Jonathan O'Connor...

With December upon us the Valley boys rose to a bright and fresh Saturday morning ready to welcome the boys from Lordswood to our home patch. With the Visitors sitting 4th in the table, and having turned over teams like Orpington and Whitstable already this season, Valley would invariably begin the day as rank outsiders. That being said, this Valley team has brought a hardened edge to its game recently and after some strong performances and a couple of wins on the bounce the season looks to be kicking into gear and the boys from Dartford went into the game quietly confident of producing a upset.

Valley flew out of the blocks early with some strong running rugby, combined with an organised and aggressive defence that would set the tone for the day. Within the first 10 minutes Will Frost had burst through the 10/12 channel like they were a set of tackle pads, Kieran Philips and Ben Orcan were making yards around the fringes. Even young winger Matt Horth got in on the action cutting in from his wing to slice through the Lordswood defence. The Valley boys showed the killer instinct from last week’s game at Shooters Hill wasn't a flash in the pan, and they turned the early pressure into early points. Camped in the Lordswood 22 for numerous phases, Valley showed the composure to keep hold of the ball and not panic. After drawing several penalties Valley went to their wrecking ball, Danny Clive. From 5 metres out he bumped 2 defenders to crash over the line for the first score of the day. Shortly followed by a conversion from Brownie. 7-0 Valley.

Lordswood responded by bringing their power game. Showing the experience of a team who last year played Kent 1 they began to make slow but steady ground by scrummaging and mauling. With Valley’s significantly lighter pack, Lordswood got points on the board with a penalty try and then a driving scrum, to put them 14-7 up.

Dartford responded by going back to playing running rugby and keeping the ball alive. Great work at the breakdown created quick ball for Mr Utility, Ian Rowlands, playing at second row on the day. Showing some quick thinking to pick and go from the edge of a ruck, he burst forward before reminding us he's comfortable in the backs by pulling a deep pass to the on-coming Tyler Dunning. With plenty still to do, the South African centre dropped the shoulder and bounced his opposite man, then raced clear of the chasing defenders to put the ball down for try number two. Brownie again nailed the conversion. 14-14.

With the Valley tails up they continued to take the game to Lordswood. Some good pressure got the team more territory in the Lordswood 22. The front row of Danny Clive, Lee Pollitecili and Aiden Jones got the shove on in a scrum and when the ball popped out to Burkey he fed Steve McHenry on the wing. With his trademark stiff arm he handed off his opposite number before racing through to put Valley back in the lead just before half time.

Half time 19-14

The start of the second half came with some aggresive physical defensive play from both teams leading to yellow cards for Kevin Brown and one of the Lordswoods prop forwards. Much of the second half was played in and around the middle of the field with Valley running hard lines and Lordswood using their scrum and lineout to make the hard yards. The returning Liam Willoughby came close to extending Valleys lead with a trademark run but was pulled down close to the line. Will Frost followed suit but was also stopped just short of the line. With Valley in the ascendency another try seemed inevitable, but when the returning Brownie, keen to make his mark, after 10 mins in the bin, hit one of the Lordswood players with a strong tackle in the open field, and was deemed to have been above shoulder height, as he held on to the player. A second yellow, and therefore red card, was brandished and Valley were down to 14 for the remainder. Lordswood again raised their game and after another big scrum their 8 crashed over the line to level the scores. Undeterred this seemed to kick Valley back in to gear and rather than sit back and defend for the draw they pushed forward for the win. Shane Baker, KP, Aiden Jones and Lee Pollicelli all making the hard yards around the fringes of the ruck with Burkey, Tyler and Will making yards with every carry in the backs.

With the light of the winter sun fading and the clock ticking away a draw seemed inevitable until the last play of the game when a strong scrum from the Dartford pack created the platform for a break from Chris Burke which lead to a high tackle from one of the Lordswood centres and a potentially kickable penalty was awarded. Valley turned to their lucky charm of an Irishman Johnny O’Connor. With a gentle breeze to his back and the low winter sun in his eyes he lined up the shot. The crowd fell silent, the ball was placed, with a deep breath and a couple of steps he sent the ball spiralling towards the posts. The touch judge raised his arm followed by an almighty roar from the home crowd, and finally a blast of the whistle from the referee. The kick was good and Valley celebrated a momentous victory!!

Full time 22-19