The Autumn Internationals have drawn to a close with much the same as the Six Nations earlier in the year, France continued their unbeaten run with Ireland also pushing on, Scotland and Italy showing promise and progress with England and Wales struggling for form as all focus now turns to preparation for the World Cup next September with just the Six Nations in February and March and three warm-up games standing between now and then.

France extended their winning run to thirteen matches with their victory against Japan. Australia and South Africa were seen off earlier in the month to leave Les Blues second in the world rankings behind Ireland. Andy Farrell's team will go into their opening Six Nations match against Wales in Cardiff in February at the top of the tree thanks to their perfect record after also beating the Wallabies and Springboks plus Fiji to follow on from their summer series victory in New Zealand. South Africa was a key game for the men in green, the leaders in the world rankings versus the World Cup holders.

Wales were hoping to build on a promising summer but were found wanting with a first-ever defeat to Georgia on home soil sandwiched between a record defeat to the All Blacks and a defeat to Australia, having led the Wallabies by 17 points at one stage to lose in the last fifteen minutes as the tourists scored four tries to take the victory. It was a similar story for England with a first home defeat to Argentina since 2006 followed by a draw with New Zealand, scoring three tries in the last ten minutes, and a heavy defeat at home to South Africa.

Italy made history in 2022, beating a Six Nations side and one of the south's big three in the same year for the first time. The victories over Wales and Australia may only have been by a point and secured at the death in each case, scoring a try in Cardiff and watching the Wallabies miss a penalty in Florence, but the how did not matter. The Azzurri are progressing steadily under the guidance of Kiwi coach Keiran Crowley and they go into the Six Nations next year with a new found sense of optimism. For Scotland, the Autumn was a summary of their year rolled into a month, they let a lead slip against Australia and New Zealand and saved the best until last against Argentina, albeit the Pumas were down to twelve players for nine minutes in the second half.

November saw the return of Friday Night Lights to Boggymead, as St Albans Vets turned out in a local derby against their Verulamians counterparts. A large crowd was treated to Saints forward dominance vs Verulamians back speed, the visitors taking a 28-5 victory in a very entertaining game. Thank you to everyone who turned up to watch and compete. Thank you to the players and everyone involved in organising the game and getting stuff sorted: Mick for organising the sides, Bill for organising the ref, Jo for the cuisine and all the supporters who packed out the clubhouse. We have two further Vets fixtures penned in the calendar, the next match is on Tuesday 27th December at Verulamians for our annual Charity game and Saturday 4th February against friends of David Scanlan's from a Welsh touring side at Boggymead.

The Autumn Nations series provided a much-needed break for the Blue and Gold, the condensed fixture list this season means that the 1st XV have had games on consecutive weekends since early September. The quieter November schedule meant that there were just two league matches, both at home. The first was a frustrating defeat to Wasps, the second a hard fought victory at home to in form Tabard, who came into the game off the back of a three game winning streak that included Wasps. The Wasps game was a head scratcher as the team let a half-time lead slip having dominated the opposition in the opening 40. In the second half the visitors took control and Saints were unable to respond. In contrast to this, Saints took control of the game against Tabard and despite a period at the start of the second half where they conceded two scores, dominated possession and territory to take an impressive victory.

The 2nd XV also had just two fixtures, both local games against in-form opposition. The first was a short trip to Redbourn Lane to take on Harpenden in "The Derby". In a close contest Saints came up short as the home side triumphed leaving the Blue and Gold still searching for their first win since the beginning of October. The hosts controlled approach, in particular their territorial kicking game, kept Saints on the back foot throughout and made it difficult to put together patterns of play. A week later, Saints were left feeling Grizzlie as OAs took the spoils in a hard fought derby. Skipper Fraser Morris reflected on another tough afternoon "We started really well today but we just couldn't build on it and when we did get opportunities we were not clinical enough in contrast to the opposition. I was disappointed with the defense for the last two scores, particularly the third try with three missed tackles on one player. That said, there is huge potential in this squad and I have not doubt when it clicks we can put a winning run together"

There were a few squad updates this month with former 1st XV skipper Anthony Stevenson returning to the field following a break from the game. Tony played a full 80 in the 2nd XV defeat to Harpenden and returns to training next month with a view to playing more regularly in the New Year. We were also pleased to see Jack Dempsey return to the 1st XV for the Tabard game following a lengthy spell on the sidelines with a rib injury. In the opposite direction we say goodbye to Sam Howell and Syd Noad who have both moved on to pastures new. Sam and Syd have been regulars in the 1st XV since they joined the club in 2018, with Sam captaining the side for the back end of the 2021/22 season. Sam has relocated to Cumbria after accepting a new job in Carlisle, whilst Syd has decided to play rugby closer to home having previously commuted from Chelmsford to train and play. Syd will be joining Southend Saxons and we congratulate him on this opportunity to develop his rugby playing at a higher level. We would like to thank both Sam and Syd for their commitment to the Blue and Gold and wish them the best in the future.

In last month's newsletter we mentioned that 1st XV winger Adam Jasinski had been selected to play international Rugby League for Poland in their upcoming Autumn Nations games against Slovakia and Norway. We are delighted to report that the team was successful with a comprehensive victory against Slovakia (78-0) and a hard fought victory vs Norway (22-18) in which Adam got on to the scoresheet in the latter game. A superb achievement for Adam and great to see a member of the Blue and Gold obtaining international honours.

It’s been a busy month full of excitement and new experiences for our mini and junior teams. At the start of the month, with half term interrupting the usual rhythm of training and fixtures our intrepid U9s took the chance to play at the Stone X Stadium. Not only did they get the chance to play on the Saracens pitch; they also helped to form the guard of honour at the start of the match. One parent summed up the experience as ‘exhausting but exhilarating’ and a great chance for our players to test themselves and be inspired.

All our Squads played away at Stockwood Park in Luton, where our hosts commented on our team spirit and the excellent attitude of our players, coaches and parents. Some exceptional performances by some of our U11s when they formed a Barbarians style squad with our U12s to match the teams of Stockwood Park, with some really mature performances and an indicator of the talent in our squads.

A great show of respect at team training on Remembrance Sunday where play was stopped at 11am to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Then back into the action with an away fixture at Cheshunt, smiles all around given the damp playing conditions and a mixed set of results in each age category, our numbers somewhat affected by winter flu and colds. Nevertheless, lots of great feedback for our players and good to test themselves against a club with greater depth and an artificial pitch. All in all, a fine November of rugby, our players are developing well and are looking forward to more matches in December. With Barnet Elizabethans at home and Camelot away we have some great fixtures to round out 2022.