IT IS two games in and two bonus-point victories for Dorking after a 36-8 win at newly-promoted Basingstoke on Saturday.
The Red & Whites battled back from a difficult start to overpower their opponents, running in four tries in total, with Adam Cooper and Ryan Jeffery both scoring twice and Andy Frost proving his worth with 16 kicked points.
However, Dorking captain Armand Roux admitted his side were made to work hard for their victory by a Basingstoke side smarting from a crushing 73-5 defeat at East Grinstead on the opening day. He said: "We were pleased to get the five points, but there are definitely things we can work on.
"They came out of the traps quickly and we were put on the back foot in the first half, but we regrouped and managed to get five points out of the game, which was the main thing.
"It shows we can react to going behind and if anyone had offered us two bonus-point wins for the first two games, we would have taken it."
Dorking drew first blood at Stoke on Saturday, with Frost converting an early penalty in the 20th minute, before the hosts came roaring back and scored a try through Karl Buttle to go into the half time break 5-3 ahead.
Dorking, who had defended well during a period of being down to 13 men, then fell further behind early in the second half when Basingstoke's Ash Paterson converted a penalty, making the score 8-6.
But after Frost reduced the deficit to two points with a penalty of his own on 52 minutes, it was all Dorking for the final half hour of play. First, Cooper went over for the first of his two tries, with Frost adding the conversion, before Frost kicked another two penalties to extend the gap to 13 points.
Jeffery then went over for the first of his brace of tries, with Frost adding the extras to extend the lead to 26-8, before Cooper and Jeffery touched down for two further tries in the closing stages to claim the bonus point and keep Dorking level on points with the early pacesetters East Grinstead.
And Roux said it is important for Dorking to keep picking up wins on the road, adding that it was vital that the Red & Whites keep their focus and avoid a slip-up like last year when they lost away at Tring.
"That was the one that got us last year," he said of the defeat in Hertfordshire.
"We need to make sure we avoid that kind of result and keep picking up wins against these teams away from home.
"If we can do that and maintain a good home form, we should be up there, but it is going to be tough as this is not an easy division and every team will be competitive."
Next up for Dorking is a home match against Guernsey at the Big Field on Saturday.
And Roux is predicting another battle for his side.
"They have recruited well over the summer.
"They had a few good players last year and we know it will be a good test.
"They were leading against East Grinstead at half time on Saturday which shows that they have got the ability and we know it will be another tough game for us."
Kick off is at 3pm.
