Wimbledon made hard work of their 29-19 win at Maidstone in London One South on Saturday.

Early injuries to wing Andy Barton and number eight Llewellyn Waters didn’t help them to find a rhythm and Wimbledon were guilty of wild passing, being slow to the breakdown and frequently turning over good ball.

Fortunately, Maidstone’s handling and tackling were even worse and the Dons’ pack was so dominant in the set scrum that the volume of ball they produced meant scores were inevitable.

Wimbledon were in such disarray in the opening quarter they were lucky not to concede at least two tries instead of just three penalties – all successfully converted.

After 30 minutes they got it together a bit and good scrum ball shipped quickly out to Mike Willoughby gave the centre enough space to score in the corner.

Don’s first really coherent move of the match, involving seven or eight pairs of hands and a clever chip from Barton was neatly finished by scrum half Alex Pyes under the posts.

Mike Simmons conversion put them into a 12-9 lead, but they lost it five minutes later, after Maidstone’s best move of the game produced a deserved converted try.

Dons regained the lead three minutes after half time when prop Dave Howell ripped the ball from a ruck and gave it to no.10, Mike Norton, who produced a classy try.

Entering the final quarter Dons were still just one point ahead due to their numerous attacks all ending in a fumbled, forward or aimless pass.

But then a fine solo try from Pyes, again courtesy of the scrum, plus Simmon’s conversion, put them two scores ahead at 24-16.

The home team clawed back three points with another silly penalty in front of the posts, but with the game now looking beyond Maidstone, Wimbledon finally started playing sensible, basic rugby – and fullback Dave Charles clinched the win with a fine jinking run from his own half to score unopposed.

Wimbledon host Old Elthamians next Saturday.