But a ‘workmanlike’ attacking performance from the Saxons - going patiently through their phases on a heavy pitch - secured a 19 point halftime lead then a try bonus point from a long range Robbie Hurrell effort. Their well organised defence went through a huge amount of work, time and again stopping DK’s runners on the gain line, the only blot on their copybook a breakaway try conceded at the death to Saxons’ old boy Duncan Chance.

Heavy rain in the week made for a very damp Heathbrook pitch, and with much of the rest of the National Leagues programme wiped out it was a credit to DK’s goundstaff that the game was played at all. There was little if any wind, and mercifully for a crowd of well over a thousand the rain stopped just an hour before kick off, but on a heavily overcast day near the solstice the gloom closed in very rapidly. The Saxons lineup showed just two changes from the Westoe game - Nathan Bressington and Stewart Pearl returning – while Rich Stott made a welcome reappearance, claiming a bench spot alongside Ben Barkley.

DK kicked off attacking the north end, following a kick exchange Pete White put Bressington into space in broken play near the right touchline. The ball was worked back left to Drew Harper who was downed by a last-ditch Stefan Shillingford tackle deep in the DK 22, quick ball was worked left but the final pass from James Rodley landed unsympathetically at Jamie Hearn’s feet and a gilt-edged chance went begging.

Jon Higgins’ clearance failed to find touch and was run back by Sam Baker, after several phases the ball came left again when this time it was White’s turn to find Hearn’s boots with a wayward pass. A kick exchange produced a Saxons’ lineout at which Robbie Hurrell was taken out in the air, the penalty kicked to touch just outside DK’s 22. The Saxons drove a maul to draw another penalty as a DK hand disrupted the emerging ball, White took a quick tap and ran the ball left where he took a return pass from Will Hurrell but was tackled just short of the tryline and knocked on attempting to ground the ball.

DK cleared their lines but were defending again immediately from an overcooked lineout throw and shipped an eminently kickable penalty for failing to release in the tackle. The Saxons declined the 3 point option and kicked for touch, launching a set of driving mauls that were only held out by defenders going offside, drawing a warning from referee Nick Cockburn. The Saxons kicked for the corner and set another maul which was driven over with Harper in possession, Hearn slotting the conversion. 14min 0-7.

Tu’ipolotu chipped restart ball back over the advancing DK backline but the defenders secured it and countered only to concede a turnover when Pearl ripped the ball away in contact. This launched a set of Saxons phases that drew a further offside penalty, White taking another quick tap and doing well to put Robbie Hurrell free down the left wing before a big hit came in from Higgins. With advantage being played Hurrell was brought down just short of the tryline but managed to find Ben Hughes who crossed the line unopposed. Hearn failed to convert and the officials were unable to identify a fortunate Higgins who one imagines might otherwise have been making his way to the sin bin. 17min, 0-12.

The Saxons knocked on at the restart but got a big shove on at the scrum forcing the DK 8 to pick up. They then coughed the ball up allowing Tu’ipoloto to kick deep and secure a Saxons’ lineout near halfway. A throw to the tail produced quick ball that was worked patiently through phases, stretching the defence left then right and back again until Rodley hit the line at pace near the DK 22. He drew the final defender to put White in for a try that Hearn converted easily. 22min 0-19.

The Saxons moved the ball right following the restart kick exchange but turned it over near DK’s 22 when an attempted offload went loose. Sensing an opportunity DK countered, moving the ball wide down the backline and looked to have outflanked the cover before the move died with a spilt pass. Over the next quarter of an hour the Saxons were unable to sustain the intensity of their early attacking game, but their steady defence was pressurising DK into handling errors that prevented all but cursory visits to the Saxons’ 22. During one attack danger man Shillingford threatened to break down the right flank but was tackled into touch by Hearn. The halftime whistle went after a barren period with defence dominating attack.

With the light weakening noticeably during the break the Saxons kicked off the restart but coughed up possession at the base of the scrum. DK countered immediately, driving play a good 40m before the move stalled just short of the tryline but a defender was penalised at the tackle. They kicked to the corner and threw long but were held out, having to settle for a scrum feed from which they attacked the narrow side but Chance’s run was well covered by Hearn who tackled him into touch. DK moved it down the back line from the lineout where Higgins’ delayed pass attracted a big tackle from Rodley before the move stalled from a knock on. Roy-Smith’s kicking cleared the Saxons’ lines several times before a DK offside penalty was kicked to touch in the DK 22, but with several replacements just arrived the throw failed to find its intended recipient and DK cleared, Hearn countered for Will Hurrell to make good ground but the move stalled when an isolated ball carrier got penalised for holding on in the tackle.

DK kicked the resulting penalty back into the Saxons’ half & ran it right where Higgins was again the less-than-grateful recipient of a Rodley tackle. The ball went loose on the Saxons left touchline where it was secured by a defender and worked back inside to the covering Roy-Smith. He shaped for a touch kick but was alerted by a call from players to his right, looking up he spotted that DK had gone for broke in attack leaving minimal cover on the right side. He hoofed a crossfield kick which the chasing Will Hurrell got a boot on to evade one defender, gathered and put a simple draw & give into the hands of brother Robbie for a clear 40 metre run in. Hearn duly converted, 55min 0-26.

The mountain got bigger for DK as they got ahead of their kicker on the restart and their scrum disintegrated, enabling Hearn to slot a long distance penalty goal from 45m. 57min 0-29.

The next 20min was a story of tiring bodies, stop-start injuries and substitutions and a pitch starting to cut up heavily, all of which contributed to what became a largely midfield stalemate. The Saxons were content to kick for distance, confident their defence would contain DK’s attempts to run back at them. There were few forays in the 22’s, the Saxons burning one opportunity with an early scrum engage then a Rich Stott breakdown steal started a counter that was halted by an obstruction call only inches short of the DK tryline. Back came DK and their scrum half was held up just held up short of the line before another turnover was secured, the counter reached as far as the DK 22 before stalling as a pass went loose. With the final whistle imminent DK’s last throw of the dice was a kick down the right wing, Chance’s chase put himself into the right position to benefit from a seasonally generous bounce and he left the cover trailing in his wake in a 50 metre run in. Final score 7-29.

Coach Mike Umaga commented : ‘We expected DK to be well up for this game, I was very impressed with our defence performance, shutting them out until the last minute when the bounce of the ball undid us – though to be fair Duncan Chance showed great pace. Our set piece gave us a good platform to attack from, though we did get a bit loose in the last 20 minutes and maybe tried a few things we wouldn’t otherwise have attempted. But we’ll take 16 wins from 16 going into the Christmas break’.

Of note was that DK's generous pre- & post-match hospitality ended in a high scoring draw on the beer front, top individual scorer being Stourbridge Senior Vice President Ian Faulks.