Both St Albans and Harpenden took this round of the County Cup competition to gain preseason experience and a chance to give their squads a competitive run out.

It was clear from the outset that Harps ment business with combative forward and fluent back play, within 20 minutes they had secured an 18 point lead with no reply. By half time they had amassed 28 points with only a Harry Trude penalty in St Albans favour.

With both teams using an expanded number of replacements it was a good chance to see and gain an appreciation of the of the personnel available. Unlike Saints this was not the first preseason game for Harpenden, and this was evident from the sharpness and cohesion they showed.

In the second half Saints began to acquit themselves better and managed to make it across the Harpenden line for a forwards try from Tony Stevenson which went unconverted. Harpenden still showed their strong running skills and accurate kicking and ran out comfortable winners by 6 trys to 1.

The St Albans coaching team were far from despondent post match as this had been a valuable lesson in what we can expect when the new season starts in earnest. It was also pleasing to see the number of new players Saints fielded and the contributions from a number of the experienced members of the squad.

This weekend St Albans travel to Stowmarket for more preseason preparation prior to their opening league fixtures at home to Old Merchant Taylors on Saturday 13th September.