1st XV
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Sat 08 Dec 2018  ·  London 1 North
Old Priorian RFC
1st XV
31
16
Sudbury
OPs beat Sudbury 31-14 at Perivale

OPs beat Sudbury 31-14 at Perivale

Edd Conway9 Dec 2018 - 11:52
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Priorians continue fine form with 5th win in 6 games

The OPs returned to Perivale with some familiar faces back in the line up. Most of the team didn't play against Rochford last week anyway, but 2017-18 Players' Player of the Season Joe Wellings returned to the back row following six weeks out with a lacerated eye lid whilst Conor Dolan occupied a bench spot having endured 3 months out with an ankle injury. Guy's Hospital RFC legend Ben Ridley also came onto the bench to make his debut for the club.

Captain Jack Dever demanded prior to kick off that the game was to be done by half-time. Whilst it wasn't quite that cut and dried, certainly a typically explosive start by the home side meant the damage was done. Sudbury retained the ball well early for the first few minutes but the OP defence looked comfortable and organised, quickly spotting the Sudbury style of play and adjusting. After four minutes, finally an opposition player was isolated around the OP 10m line and Jack Dever made an outstanding turnover then fed the ball to Ozegovic who drew his man well before passing to McBride and then James Booth. Booth showed his strong hand off to make a great break, eating up the ground before feeding the ball to Tom Raine who beat the cover defender to score his first try for the OPs. It was an excellent try, typical of OP rugby and demonstrated their danger in transition. It wasn't long before the OPs created space on the left wing, with Guy Djedje timing his pass beautifully to unleash Barney Wellings. Having made the break, the OPs managed a couple more phases when it was our hard-working tight head Guy who was on hand to crash over for the second try. 10-0.

The third OP try wasn't far off either, with Barney Wellings showing pace and power for a 17-0 lead. Sudbury fought back fairly quickly, their fly half intellingently spotting space in the stodgy bottom right corner and put in a well weighted kick which his winger recovered. The OP cover defence managed to stop him just short of the try line but in attempting to turn the ball over it was judged that Will Clarke came off his feet, leading to a penalty try and yellow card for the full-back. For much of the half the OPs looked dangerous but had entered a slight lapse with a number of errors in the wet weather. It wasn't until the final play of half that the OPs secured the bonus point with hooker Jono Moore hitting a nice line to ride through to defenders for a 24-7 lead at half time.

The second half was a stop-start affair with OPs creating good opportunities before forcing play too much leading to errors. The Sudbury fly half played the conditions well, kicking with the wind to gain them considerable territory. They never really looked like scoring but took advantage of three penalties to get themselves back within reach at 24-16. When it really mattered, the OPs increased the tempo and intensity again, spending a long period in the Sudbury half and pressuring their try line. This was aided by excellent impact from the bench with Sam Tiffin coming in at hooker, Ben Ridley into the back row and Conor Dolan back in at 12. After multiple phases, Jack Dever attacked his man and hung a no-look ball off his shoulder for Barney Wellings to burst through the defence and under the posts to seal the game with about 15mins left, taking it to 31-16. The OPs had a couple more opportunities that, really, they should have been more clinical with but overall it was a solid performance with the defence looking comfortable throughout.

Next up the OPs are at home again to play a resurgent Ruislip who will be keen to build on their current momentum having won their last two games.

Damo Langley Award: Jono Moore
Joe Codrington Award: Barney Wellings

Match details

Match date

Sat 08 Dec 2018

Kickoff

TBC

Competition

London 1 North

League position

6
Old Priorians
10
Sudbury
Team overview
Further reading

Team Sponsors

Club Sponsor - Dowson Fitness
Club Sponsor - Collins Advisory & Brokerage
Club Sponsor - Dough Dealers
Club Affiliate - St Benedict's Development and Alumni Relations Office