After a near perfect 2025, Dings 2’s suffered a rare blip to close out the year in a top of the table clash with Nailsea & Backwell, making the opening game of 2026 against Old Bristolians ever more important. Perfect conditions, if a little chilly, meant that a decent crowd were looking forward to a flowing game with lots of tries, and they were not disappointed!

3 penalties in the opening couple of minutes was a sign of things to come, with the ref enjoying a good blow on that whistle. The discipline was questionable for both sides, but it was Old Bristolians that received the first yellow card of the day on 5 minutes. With Dings in a good position, Jamie Elswood put the ball right on the 5m line giving the forwards the opportunity to open the scoring and they duly obliged with Joe Hawkesbury dotting down in the corner.

The early yellow card and the try scored by Dings could have led to the floodgates opening and the familiar sight of a Dings team running away with it, but that was certainly not the case. During the 10 minutes down to 14, Old Bristolians would make the most of some ill-discipline from Dings and score 2 tries of their own, sandwiching a second try for Dings scored by number 8, Charlie Harkins, after a powerful leg drive by the ever reliable 12, Greg Welling. 20 minutes played and, despite a yellow card, OB’s were up 14-12 thanks to some exceptional kicking off the tee by their fly half.

The remainder of the first half continued to be a back-and-forth affair with discipline the weakness for Dings. They were unquestionably playing the better rugby but continuously letting OB’s in with the penalty count. Dings took the lead around 25 minutes with a try from Matt Bennett, converted by Elswood, but Bennett was then the unlucky recipient of Dings’ first yellow card on 35mins for a string of penalties conceded by the team. OB’s scored their third and final try of the half, all 3 from penalties. Dings, a man down, still had the quality to finish the half with a try of their own after Charlie Harkins peeled off the back of a 5m scrum to dot down under the posts. Dings took a 26-21 lead into half time.

The second half began with 2 tries each, with Hawkesbury scoring another off the back of a rolling maul and Kyah Tunnicliffe charging down a box kick and gathering the loose ball to score a try of his own. Of the four tries scored early in the second half, OB’s converted both whilst Dings converted neither, bringing the score to 36-35 with 15 minutes remaining. The atmosphere was tense as it was critical that Dings took 5pts having dropped points to rivals Nailsea & Backwell in the last game.

To the relief of the crowd watching on, the quality of the Dings squad, with multiple players having seen National Division 1 rugby this season, would ensure that they were too much for OB’s to hang onto in the final 15 minutes. 3 consecutive tries scored by Dings wingers would prove the difference in the end. A speculative kick from O’Grady

would bounce awkwardly for the OB’s fullback on halfway and Jacob Fuller was there to gather the ball at pace and run in under the posts, taking Dings 8 points clear with the kick from Ellswood. Then, the Sol Taufa show, scoring 2 tries in quick succession, including the try of the match as he tapped a high ball down into the hands of O’Grady and quickly turned to support him on his inside. O’Grady drew the defender before returning the ball to Sol on his inside, who was able to cruise in under the posts.

Despite a yellow card for Joe Hawkesbury as the final whistle approached, and a try scored by OB’s with the last play of the game, Dings ran out 55-40 winners to keep their title challenge on the right path. It was a Man of the Match performance from number 8, Charlie Harkins who carried with purpose and bagged himself a couple of tries.

Tod Bryant