Cents Come Within 2 Points of Win 09.03.08
St. Albans Centurions staged a magnificent fight back at the Recreation Ground on Sunday but it wasn’t quite enough as Hemel Stags, from the higher National League, grabbed a last gasp try to win the match 26 - 24.
This was a pre-season game where both sides were fielding new players and giving match practice to a few youngsters in preparation for the long campaign ahead so there wasn’t much at stake apart from local pride. But as the match progressed and the intensity increased, it certainly didn’t seem like that.
After only six minutes Hemel were 12 - 0 ahead and looked like they were going to run away with it as they scored two tries in quick succession from Evans and Wall with Swindells converting both of them. The Centurions fought back and a barnstorming run from Paul Maloney saw him slip the ball to Oli Fountain who made forty metres before offloading to Jacques Steinberg to score his debut try for the club.
Hemel were still looking the better team and it was no great surprise when they stretched their lead as Thomas broke from a play the ball thirty metres out for a fine solo try. On twenty minutes, the Centurions narrowed the gap when from a scrum Shane Rampling moved the ball out to Fountain and Joe Brace touched down in the corner.
Just before half time the Hemel winger, Clark scored a try on the right after spotting a huge gap in the St. Albans defence and the Stags went in to the break deservedly leading 20 - 8.
It was a different matter in the second half. The Centurions were much more fired up. They went the length of the field in a set of six, involving fine work from the returning hardy perennial, Richard Smith and on the last tackle Oli Fountain slipped the ball inside for Miles Dempsey to score.
So fired up were the Cents that they managed to have both ‘Monty’ Morne and Rudi Van der Mewre sent to the sin bin for ten minutes. With the St. Albans side down to eleven men, this was a time when Hemel Stags should have taken control but it didn’t work out like that. Astonishingly it was the Centurions who scored as another debutant, Vorster, grabbed his first try for the club. Morne was back on the field to add the extra two points.
A few minutes later St. Albans took the lead for the first time when Joe Brace scored his second try of the afternoon after the Cents had stormed upfield. ‘Monty’ Morne slotted over the conversion to make it 24 - 20 and the Centurions were ahead. Sadly, they couldn’t manage to hang on to their lead as Thomas scored a try for Hemel and Swindells converted to win the game for the Stags with only minutes left on the clock. Game Pics in The Gallery.
Team: Doyle; Morne; O. Fountain; Dempsey; Myers; Rampling; Van Der Merwe; Lake; Hancock; Weldon; Millar; Chapman; Maloney; Surtees; Brace; Steinberg; Vorster; True; N. Fountain. (M.Walling)
(Also, well done to Nikki, who stepped in at the last moment and did the food for the players - Thank you. )
