St Albans First Team
Match Reports
SAINTS PACK BLITZ HADLEIGH IN FIRST LEAGUE WIN!Saturday 22nd October 2005
St.Albans 46 - Hadleigh 19
Saints hosted Suffolk side Hadleigh for the second time ever at Boggymead Spring last Saturday.The last occasion there was a play-off for a place in London North 2 League which Hadley won well, in the summer of 2004.That game was a rematch of an earlier play-off in 2004 at Hadleigh which was replayed for administrative reasons.
visual studioHadleigh ,founded only in 1984 , and St.Albans are both without a league win so far this season and thus are near the foot of the Powergen London North 2 League.All to play for then as both sides attempt to pull themselves a fraction clear of the other.
Conditions were excellent,slightly overcast,15C, with a light south-westerly blowing straight down a firm pitch .
Hadleigh kicked off but Saints ran it straight back pressuring them into conceding a penalty ,missed by No 10 Simon Andrews on one minute. On 4 minutes ,more Saints pressure led to an attacking lineout from a penalty near Hadleigh's line.A classic catch and drive saw the Saints eight drive over at pace for County No 8 John Sayers to score the first of his 5 tries of the game,this one unconverted.Saints 5 Hadleigh 0.
Saints rapidly realised that in their forwards they had a more modern version of the old Roman centurion-a tank.
However, from the restart the Saints backline came straight into the action with new No 13 centre signing Dene Miller running abrasively at Hadleigh before linking with winger James Dickinson & full back Joe Shaw.A knock on halted the move on the Hadleigh line but from the ensuing scrum the visitors only scrambled the ball into touch for a Saints lineout 5 metres from the line.Captain Dan Hillier's two handed lineout catch was consolidated by the well drilled machine which caterpillared over for a second Sayers try near the corner,again unconverted.
On 10 minutes Saints 10 Hadleigh 0.
Hadleigh slowly clawed their way downfield but were becoming frustrated by the efficient Saints defence so that on 15 minutes Hadleigh's No 9 was yellow carded for repeated infringements.
On 20 minutes ,Saints were back in control with a series of rolling mauls culminating in another try for the well-oiled octet ,John Sayers scoring & No 10 Simon Andrews converting.Saints 17 Hadleigh 0.
Saints Nos 12 and 13 Martin Alderton and Dene Miller soon had another storming attack at and through Hadleigh's defence,only for the last pass to be knocked on just short of the Hadleigh line.From the scrum Hadleigh were penalised for not binding.Again the Saints eight backed themselves opting for a scrum from which they marched over for another Sayers try in the other corner,unconverted.
So on 26 minutes,Saints 22 Hadleigh 0.
The return of Hadleigh's No 9 from the sin-bin inspired the visitors who now made a game of it as Saints temporarily switched the engine off.They pressurised Saints line for some minutes forcing a penalty 22 metres from Saints line.An enterprising Hadleigh tap & go saw Hadleigh's excellent mobile hooker appear in the line to score a good unconverted try.
On 30 minutes Saints 22 Hadleigh 5.
This further motivated Hadleigh who attacked again through their forwards before releasing their superb Fijian No 11 winger for a powerful ,converted try.
On 34 minutes it's game on with Saints 22 Hadleigh 12.
Saints armour had been holed and they now decided to turn their ignition back on again and drive their tank forward re-exerting the earlier pressure.
Ammunition in tact, this resulted in Hadleigh being penalised for handling in the ruck,Simon Andrews delivering a 3 point howitzer approaching the break.
Simon's decision making, strategic kicking and positional sense were excellent as he and scrum half Gareth Day guided Saints forward for the rest of the match.
Half time. St Albans 25 Hadleigh 12.
It took 22 minutes of the second half before there was another score.Both sides had tightened up defensively and despite Saints pinning Hadleigh down in their 22 for about 10 minutes,could not score although the cavalry, Dene Miller & Joe Shaw linking with wing Ian "Macca" McMullen came close.Hadleigh broke out too but kicked too long over the Saints deadball defence line.The deadlock was broken on 62 minutes when the Saints pack reverted to type ,moved up a gear with a series of rolling mauls down to Hadleigh's line.
From an attacking 5 metre scrum,Saints John Sayers scored another well protected textbook try,converted by Simon Andrews.
So on 63 minutes Saints 32 Hadleigh 12.
In the last 20 minutes at intervals Saints substitutes Nick Homan,Donald Onyuma and John Andrews came on keeping the momentum & the scoring going until the end.
Hadleigh could have crumpled but showed immense character in breaking out eventually and catching Saints asleep at the wheel.Two of Hadleigh's Fijian backs linked on the outside for a superb 50 metre run down their right touchline,crossing in the corner but touching down under the Saints posts for a quality converted try.
On 68 minutes Saints 32 Hadleigh 17.
Saints retaliated immediately ,tail gunner Ollie Cooper-Millar stealing another Hadleigh lineout on their 22.Feeding the supporting forwards and backs ,he re-joined their rolling maul,re-collected the ball and cannoned over for a converted try.On 70 minutes Saints 39 Hadleigh 19.
Hadleigh battled on going backwards but lost more lineout & another strike against the head.
On 78 minutes the Saints backline fed Dene Miller who broke out yet again to feed evergreen winger "Macca" McMullen who flew over to score the final converted try of the game under the posts.
Final score St.Albans 46 Hadleigh 19.
Saints coach Tim Andrews was justifiably delighted not only with the massive forward performance but in the way the whole team regrouped when Hadleigh got right back into the game.Onwards and upwards,the formula is simple -hard work all round.
Saints Man of the Match was Herts County No 8 John Sayers (picture) as he created a piece of St Albans RFC history by scoring five tries in a row at our top level.He paid tribute to all his mates in the pack,as did No10 Simon Andrews, for giving him an armchair ride and helping Saints to their first ever victory over Hadleigh.
Also catching the eye were lineout steals again this week by flanker Ollie Cooper -Millar,a powerful debut by No13 Dene Miller,and more excellent driving open play by hooker Brenton Lemiere. Saints backs, particularly the half back hinge of Gareth Day & Simon Andrews ,controlled affairs well especially when the tank wasn't rumbling.
And finally,food for thought.Last week 4 out of the 5 Saints tries were by the backs.This week 6 out of their 7 tries were by the forwards.Encouraging indeed!
Captain Dan Hillier and his troops go home deservedly with the spoils but more importantly,with renewed faith in themselves after a tough campaign so far.
St.Alban's scores.
Tries . John Sayers (5 in a row), Ollie Cooper-Millar ,Ian McMullen.
Penalty.Simon Andrews.