Wimbledon are Don for (From Croydon Guardian)

Chobham 12 Wimbledon 10

2:21pm Monday 7th September 2009 in Rugby Union

Wimbledon could and should have won this game.

They will regret the two early missed penalties and even more the two try-scoring opportunities in the last ten minutes, when having made the breaks, the final passes went astray.

But possibly more importantly they will rue their tactics in the crucial middle part of the second half, when the ball really should have gone wide.

As ever the pack were outweighed, but the front row of Pete Wallace, Dave Howell (acquitting himself very well in an unaccustomed role as hooker) and Ben Davies, plus what is likely to prove the most mobile back five in the league, ensured that the opposition forwards never got the better of them.

They struggled a wee bit on their own put-ins, and scrum-half Alex Pyes had to pull out all the stops to give decent ball to No. 10 Dave Rees, but every time the backs got the ball they looked very dangerous.

And the defence was superb; on the one occasion the Chobham backs strung a move together a brilliant tackle from fullback Andy Barton snuffed it out.

After Chobham’s classy kicker, Andy Smith, had put the home side six points up, Barton picked up a loose clearance kick and gave it to wing Andy Reilly who weaved through four defenders to score a trademark Reilly try.

His conversion put Dons one point ahead, but a really iffy drop kick from Chobham’s Smith scraped over to give them an undeserved half time 9-7 lead.

In the second half Wimbledon’s Reilly and Chobham’s Smith slotted a penalty apiece to produce the final scoreline.

But Don’s tactical naivety and sloppy final passes could have produced a very different result.

They are unlikely to make the same mistakes again and look to be a very strong side this season. They will hope to demonstrate that at home next week to Gravesend.