Rugby Union: Harpenden send the Saints Marching on - Sulking!

Thank you to Harpenden Rugby for providing details of a fantastic win over local rivals St Albans. Report taking in full from HRFC website.

St Albans 8 Harpenden 26

The Men in Black uttered a fitting goodbye to a young stalwart of the club on Saturday with a rousing display against local rivals St Albans. Harpenden had to contend with the loss of Jonny Barton and Tom Musket from the starting fifteen, but brought in Cooper and South (the latter on debut), to a reshuffled backline. The changes continued upfront with the introduction of McGee and Chichester-Miles to the coal-face, with the former on debut.

The game began with gusto and aggression, with both sides looking to set a relative benchmark of both intensity and execution. St Albans had the upper hand at the opening exchanges, using their rampant pack to good effect around the fringes or the breakdown. Only efficient and staunch defending from Harpenden’s Dumbleton and Dan Tennant kept the home side at an arm’s length. Following the early excursions Harpenden soon settled and sought to gain a controlling foothold in the contest, by combining a neat off-loading game from the forwards with rapid and rapier-like backline play. It nearly worked a treat. With centre Kearns bursting through two half-tackles feeding Barton whose pass in-turn found Smith some 30 meters out. St Alban’s scrambling defense did just enough to extinguish Harpenden’s talented backline. The home side’s response was forceful and calculated, with scrum half Howard using his runners from deep on intelligent angles to force some thieving Harpenden hands in the ruck and giving St Alban’s fullback and kicking metronome, Kentish the chance to open the scoring. He did so with aplomb. With a partisan home support a quick Harpenden response was critical, and they showed excellent temperament in taking the lead with some pinpoint execution. A lineout take by the towering Dumbleton enabled Tennant to get his backline motoring, and following some quick ruck ball, the Captain’s pass found the hopeful hands of Payne, who side-stepped the defender and coolly finish under the posts. The conversion was missed but Harpenden held a crucial 5-3 lead. The first half ended with chances going begging to both sides, Harpenden, despite playing against the conditions had the lion’s share of the territory, but St Albans created a chance for Kentish’s boot and another for their winger. Both were spurned.

HT 5-3

Whatever was said by the Harpenden coaches at the half-time interval worked a treat. From a textbook training ground move fullback Barton tore through the St Albans defense, selling an audacious dummy in the process to give Harpenden the perfect start to the second period. Smith converted from a wide position and Harpenden held a 12-3 advantage. The Men in Black’s shot at continuing their front foot assault were soon scuppered by an attempted attack from deep which culminated in a mistake and then a series of testing scrums from the burly St Albans pack. Time and again the home side’s eight battered away at the Harpenden line, and following a multitude of reset scrums St Albans managed to burrow their way over from close range, a just reward for their diligence and efforts. The conversion drifted narrowly wide, and it remained a 4 point game. From the restart Harpenden went about restoring their hard-earned advantage; from a lineout, Tennant, playing on the game-line, created uncertainty and space for Smith. The winger sliced through several tackles before being felled, but support was numerous, with Macintosh and McGee quick to present South with ball which was fed along an expectant backline. Kearns’ soft hands again found winger Payne, who rounded the move off in style that had sent the Harpenden fans into raptures. Smith converted from the touchline with aplomb. A flurry of activity from the Harpenden bench saw the intensity and pressure remain on the home team.

South, a constant thorn in St Albans’ side created opportunities from deep and this combined with the powerful running from the scrum’s base by McGee at eight saw Harpenden maintain the upper hand. Harpenden’s pack, despite its weight disadvantage, was competitive throughout and turned the aforementioned disadvantage into a bonus, with their greater speed over the firm ground and accuracy at the breakdown obvious throughout. This was encapsulated by the indefatigable efforts of the front three combination of Blake, Peck and Tennant, the latter’s unerring ability to hit his man at the lineout consistently throughout 80minutes, proving an excellent source of alpha. There was just enough time on the clock for the Captain to round off the scoring with a piece of solo brilliance following some powerful approach play from Messer’s Dumbleton and Green, the flyhalf’s show and go were gratefully accepted and he touched down under the posts for the vital bonus point score.

FT 26-8

Team;

Peck M, Tennant D, Blake, Macintosh, Dumbleton, Chichester-Miles, Green, McGee, South, Tennant J ©, Payne, Cooper, Kearns, Smith, Barton.

Subs;

Ledgwig for Peck (65”), Ramon for Kearns (75”) and Haddock for Payne (70”).