Sat 18 Oct 2025
On the day of the clubs Vice Presidents dinner, Dunstablians faced a strong and organised Vipers side at home in an intense and physical encounter that delivered fast-paced rugby from start to finish.
The visitors opened the scoring early, with tries from fly-half Carhart, winger Barrett and scrum-half Parrington, Parrington 1-from-3 with the conversions, within the first 15 minutes to give Vipers a quick lead. 0-17
The home side lost Harry Abbot with a reoccurrence of a leg injury, resulting in a shuffle with Cove moving from Front Row to Centre and Hake on at Hooker.
Dees replied through winger Sam Cowan, who went over wide right, after sustained forwards pressure. A few carries slightly left of the posts, through hands to the right for Jordan Sullivan-Warner to draw the last defender and put Sam in. Zach Bourne adding the conversion to close the gap to 7–17.
Vipers hit back soon after from a 5m lineout move, through their captain Matt Salmon, converted by Parrington, before some good interplay wide and tight added another unconverted try for Parrington. 7-29
Dees finished the half strong however, pushing Vipers off their own scrum on their 22m. The resulting penalty was followed by another for a high tackle, Bourne taking a quick tap against the slow retreating defenders unable to make the tackle, to dot down and convert himself on the halftime whistle. A strong 14-29 lead for Vipers at halftime, despite committed defending from the home side.
The second half began much like the first, with Vipers scoring almost immediately. From their halfway lineout, three long passes switched play right, fullback Parkin coming onto the ball on halfway, showing great feet to beat the defenders and score. Converted by Parrington. 14-36
Dunstablians’ injury list grew when Jordan Sullivan-Warner was forced off with a nasty ankle injury after prolonged treatment on-field.
Despite the setbacks, Dunstablians rallied again, with Cowan scoring his second try following a cute kick to the right by Bourne. The bounce took out the defender and Sam followed with the catch and dive, for Bourne to convert once more and lift the home crowd. 21-36
Nate Dominique then entered himself once more to home fans with a massive hit on Vipers centre Luke Stannard that put and end to Stannard's afternoon.
However, Vipers’ quality showed late on. Parkin got a second, converted by Parrington, extending the lead to 21–43, before a breakaway from Parrington saw him score and convert his hat-trick score, capping off a dominant display at 21–50.
Although the final scoreline flattered the visitors, Dunstablians showed immense fight and determination throughout. Cowan and Zach impressed again, supported by a hardworking forward pack that refused to give up despite the growing injury list.
A battling effort by those stepping up in light of the extensive injury issues facing the squad.
The Dees can take plenty of positives from their attacking phases and resilience as they look ahead to their next fixture.
Match Report by Dante & Mike
