St Albans 2nds 22 12 OAs Grizzlies

St Albans 2s – 22-12 – Oas Grizzlies

1. James Little
2. Harry Toland
3. Dave Jones
4. Melt de Vos
5. Dan Chalkley ©
6. George Stephenson - MoM
7. Ryan Welsh
8. John Sayers
9. Gregor McKay
10. Matt Henderson
11. Keygan Cyrus
12. Nathan Johns
13. Julian Erwee
14. Ross Keeley
15. Bill Harris
16. Mick O’Shea

A well-disciplined display saw St Albans meet local rivals OAs to clinch a local derby and bounce back from last week’s 1 point defeat at the hands of Finsbury Park 2s. Debuts for former Old Albanian Matt Henderson, Herts Uni winger Ross Keeley and Back rower Ryan Welsh alongside the return of club stalwarts Mick O’Shea and Melt De Vos.

The Saint’s first try was with a touch of fortune as the Grizzlies fullback allowed the ball to bounce twice which was collected by stand in centre Julian Erwee to score under the post; converted by scrum half Gregor McKay. The Saints then scored again after a good phase of possession in the OAs 22 to score under the posts through John Sayers; conversion again scored by Gregor McKay.

The 3rd try saw Champagne rugby from the twos with storming runs from the back brushing off tackles combined with offloads a plenty from the backs to score in the corner. A difficult conversion opportunity was missed.

Before the half OAs struck twice, once through a well taken catch and drive and another from a break scored in the corner, one conversion was scored to make it 19-12 at the break.

It was a second half of attrition with OAs having more of the ball due to their dominance at the breakdown; plenty for the 2s to work on here. However the final points of the game cam 10 minutes from time as McKay slotted a penalty in front of the posts after the Grizzlies failed to roll away from the tackle.

Final score 22-12, the Saints take on Chesunt 3s at Home on Saturday to cement their push for the Merit table title.