St Albans First Team

Match Reports

ST ALBANS RFC GAIN HISTORIC VICTORY OVER OLD ALBANIANS IN HERTS PRESIDENT'S CUP! Sunday 15th January 2006

St.Albans 10 Old Albanians 7 .

Last Sunday Saints welcomed senior local rivals Old Albanians to Boggymead Spring for a rare first team encounter.OA’s, founded in 1924 , have always been a league or two at least ahead of their young local hosts ,46 years their junior,such has been the gulf in playing standard over the years.The two Clubs’ first teams are believed to have clashed just once,eight or nine years ago ,when OA’s won.Could Saints provide an upset in the Herts President’s Cup against the massive odds on favourites from the Powergen London 1 League immediately above them?

The match was given extra spice for all involved by the fact that four of Saints’ first team regulars on the teamsheet were all recruited from OA’s in the last year after Saints had gained automatic promotion to the Powergen London North 2 League.

Conditions were overcast ,7C with a light southerly wind blowing directly across a rather tacky pitch.

Mr Phil Davies,the young Herts Society referee with experience at National League level ,got the match under way just after 2pm.

OA kicked off towards the Oaklands end but it did not go 10 metres.

OA turned Saints’ scrum for a re-scrum and drove down to Saints’ 22.A huge clearance kick by No10 John Andrews put Saints into OA’s half for the first time.The ensuing lineout turned into an OA scrum.

On 3 minutes Saints took an OA feed against the head but promptly lost the ball.

The match became scrappy for several minutes until Saints drove to OA’s 22 to force a penalty wide out.New signing this season No 13 Mark Kentish missed the kick and the visitors made good ground from a long quick dropout camping near Saints’ 22 .

The game became bogged down in an unsatisfactory midfield stalemate both sides making plenty of elementary basic mistakes.

On 14 minutes Saints were driven to just 6 metres from their line but broke out down the blindside .They squandered a free kick and from the ensuing scrum OA’s No 10 found a fine precision touch 5 metres from Saints’ line.Saints broke out again and the game again degenerated inside Saints’ half with poor passes and knockons all round for the next ten minutes,interrupted by various injuries.

On 27 minutes OA kept the pressure on inside Saints’ 22 and gained a penalty.They chose to kick for the corner but Saints’ Ollie Cooper-Millar (picture) robbed OA’s lineout and with full back Joe Shaw and the back row to the fore worked their way down to OA’s 22.

OA’s lineout was working well,as it did virtually all match, and again they fed their speedy right wing who made good ground into Saints 22.

On 30 minutes Saints were penalised for holding back an opponent without the ball.

From this OA gained an attacking lineout 6 metres out from Saints’ line.From an excellent catch and drive the OA pack drove straight over for a textbook pushover try near the corner scored by their No 7 ,Paul Mansfield.Their No 15 Ed Orchard kicked a fine long conversion from fairly wide out.

On 32 minutes Saints 0 OA 7.

This galvanised Saints and straight from the restart they drove to OA ‘s 22 and forced a scrum.A solid Saints heel sent County No 8 John Sayers and the two back row young guns on a rolling maul carried on by “Godfather” prop Danny Batchelor and the second rows,captain Dan Hillier and Mark Davis, before releasing it to hooker Brenton Lemiere 10 metres out.The young South African made the hard yards with his low undercarriage to take himself ,the ball and 3 OA’s over the line for a fine maiden try for his new club.

Mark Kentish ,having missed from the same spot earlier,made no mistake with a beautifully drawn conversion kick.

On 35 minutes Saints 7 OA’s 7.

Another poor dropout by OA’s not going 10 led to a Saints scrum which drove down to OA’s 22 where they they spilled the ball yet again.OA persisted in feeding their right winger whose pass was intercepted but then knocked on.Mercifully ,the referee spared everyone any more in a poor error strewn first half, except for the two excellent goals, by blowing the half time whistle.

Half time score. St.Albans 7 Old Albanians 7.

At the break inside the clubhouse, Saints’ coach Tim Andrews reinforced the strong team belief that the game was there for the taking if they kept their nerve, discipline and momentum to the final whistle.He made one half time substitution bringing on South African hardman , flanker Richard Louw , for David Mitchell who had given a good frisky display. Meanwhile a knowledgeable,good natured 200 strong local crowd supported by a busy well stocked bar, had gone strangely quiet as they pondered whether the unthinkable might happen!

The second half started with more poor play in the midfield ending in touch 10 metres inside Saints’ half. On 45 minutes a minor altercation between two props,more a case of handkerchiefs than handbags,was not tolerated by referee Mr Davies. Saints’ Brisbane prop Farren Mahoney and OA’s No 3 prop, believed to be Alesandro Barbieri, were both yellow carded and went to the sin bin for 10 minutes.

The match again went off the boil with injuries and front row substitutions at each scrummage.Saints had the luxury of bringing on Brent Green ,the Herts County Shield winning prop of last season ,back from a long layoff,whilst the sin bin was operating.

On 53 minutes John Andrews opted for a kick and chase from OA’s 10 metre line but overcooked the kick which went into touch in goal for a scrum back.

Nothing more of much consequence except injury breaks happened in this scrappy encounter until 63 minutes when OA were awarded a penalty 10 metres from Saints’ line. They opted, possibly fatally in hindsight,to go for the corner and not the posts.

From the attacking OA 5 metre lineout , a well organised Saints defence forced a scrum upfield. A good solid heel by Saints found No 12 Martin Alderton’s boot which bounced a siege gun of a clearance kick into touch on OA’s 22.

On 67 minutes Saints’ pack, really rumbling now , pushed OA’s eight off their scrummage heel to go 5 metres from OA’s line.From the defensive lineout OA ran the ball out and kicked a good touch find just inside the Saints’ half.

On 70 minutes OA had driven a penalty to 20 metres from Saints’ line.Saints again ruined their possession with more smash and grab by Ollie Cooper-Millar and the back row supported by scrum half Gareth Day,punching well above his weight all afternoon.

This did not stop OA from driving a scrum and forcing a penalty on Saints’ 22 half way out to the touchline on 75 minutes.

This time OA’s No 15 went for goal but missed by a good margin.

On 76 minutes still 7-7.