When Dennis Cherry arrived at the soggy National Sports Club pitch yesterday afternoon he was not even expecting to play.

But the last-minute addition, playing only in his second game of the season, scored two tries to lead Bermuda Welsh to a dramatic 17-15 victory over President's XV in the annual St. David's Day Match.

Cherry's second score in the final minutes of a well-played match by both teams, which saw the lead change on three different occasions, made the difference and set the stage for Bermuda Welsh centre Colin Lunn's dramatic two-point winning kick with only a few minutes left to spare.

Basking in the attention after the match, Cherry downplayed his two winning scores, preferring to share the spotlight with team-mates Gareth Davies and Roddy Moore, Bermuda Welsh's two other stars in the game.

"I just happened to be at the right place at the right time,'' he said. "I was fortunate to be there when the ball was passed.'' Cherry was in the right place 20 minutes into the game when a free kick infringement and dropped ball by President's XV captain Alvin Harvey allowed him to grab the ball and bulldoze his way over the try line for Bermuda Welsh's first score to tie the game at 5-5.

Only five minutes earlier full-back Gavin Corcoran scored for President's XV and the game remained deadlocked until the end of the first half.

It was an afternoon of missed opportunities for both squads with only one successful two-point conversion kick. Outside half Gary Osborne failed to connect in the first half for President's XV while Roddy Moore's two-point attempt went wide for Bermuda Welsh.

Moore's bad luck continued 35 minutes into the game when a missed drop goal could have added three more points to Bermuda Welsh's total.

As the clock ticked away in the final moments of the first half, President's XV failed on their chance to take the lead when scrum-half Anthony Adderley missed a sure five-pointer when he dropped the ball.

Both teams were able to control the ball better in the second half. The cold and rain surprisingly were not a factor, players said, even as the rain began to pelt both squads with increasing vigour in the second half.

Bermuda Welsh half-backs Davies and Moore seized control in the second half's early going with Davies eventually taking opportunity of Corcoran's dropped ball after 10 minutes.

Davis then took President's XV by surprise when he dived over the goal-line seconds later to put Bermuda Welsh in front 10-5. Moore then made it 0-for-3 on attempted conversions.

The pace began to quicken as team-mates, put together for the Cambrian Trophy match, became more familiar with each other.

Bermuda Welsh threatened to take an eight-point lead but eventual hero Lunn missed a penalty kick at goal.

With 15 minutes left versatile Bermuda Welsh centre Steve Everest broke through the middle of the field giving what appeared to be a perfect scoring pass to flanker Sean Field, who threw the ball wildly over the try line missing an easy five-point play.

President's XV stormed back when sustained pressure on Bermuda Welsh defence paid dividends. Lock forward Andy Pell galloped past the goal-line to tie the score at 10-10 with less than 15 minutes left in the game.

Bermuda Welsh almost grabbed the lead but instead saw their hopes dissipate as the crowd with an obvious bias for Bermuda Welsh, groaned with each miss.

Adding insult to injury was wing Nick Elwig's perfect lob to Everest who was waiting in front of the try line, but the try was disallowed by referee Norman Wilson.

Plagued by poor passing decisions and spurred by Wilson's call, President's XV defence seemed impenetrable.

President's XV pulled into a 15-10 lead with captain Harvey's fancy pass to wing Shane DeMille who slipped through Bermuda Welsh tacklers untouched to score. Gorman missed the conversion, attempting the kick from the rain-soaked side of the pitch.

Undeterred, Bermuda Welsh played never-say-die with Cherry finally solving the mystery of President's XV tough defence by diving past a cluster of players to tie the score at 15-15. Lunn followed with the winning two-point conversion.

SLIP SLIDING AWAY -- Shane DeMille of President's XV gallops past a fallen Dennis Cherry of Bermuda Welsh during second-half action at National Sports Club yesterday.