DINGS suffered derby day despair at the hands of local rivals Clifton at a packed Shaftesbury Park. There wasn’t much in it at the break, with the visitors holding a slender three-point lead, but it was a different story in the second-half with Clifton out-scoring Dings by 20 points to nil to maintain their unbeaten record at Dings' new home.

Clifton got their noses in from with a penalty from fly-half Brad Barnes on 20 minutes. Dings hit back five-minutes later with a try from former Clifton wing Ian Clark. Stand-off Ollie Millner added the extras to give Dings a 7-3 lead.

Barnes nudged over another penalty before the first of two tries from centre Sam Harrison. Milner booted a penalty to make it 13-10 at the turnaround.

But Clifton found their rhythm after the break, while Dings made a lot of unforced errors and lacked the urgency and accuracy of the visitors. Barnes, who impressed with the boot all game, finished with 18 points. Barnes added two further penalties and the extras after former Dings back-rower Mike Uren went over when Clifton were down to 14 men, and bisected the uprights from the touchline when Harrison crossed in the 72nd minute to seal the contest.

Half-time: 13-10 Clifton
Attendance: 1,076

Dings try: Clark 25. Conversion: Millner 26. Penalty: 40.
Clifton tries: Harrison 31, 72. Uren 58. Conversions: Barnes 32, 59, 73. Penalties: Barnes 20, 29, 43, 64.

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