London Merit League
St Albans Development 16 -v- 14 South London Storm 2nds
First game and first win of the season for the St Albans Centurions Development team in the London Merit League. In a very close tussle that frequently went from one end of the pitch to the other the Cents always managed to keep that one step ahead of their South London rivals. Unfortunately, in the second half, the game was marred by a serious leg injury to Cents American player Josh Wolf, who up to that point was having a great game. The match was held up for half an hour whilst the ambulance attended and Josh was taken to hospital.
Cents Player Injured In Win 03.05.08
Although the game carried on, the enforced break had taken some of the sparkle out of the game and in the end Cents deserved their close, two points victory.
The club sends its best wishes to Josh and wishes him a speedy recovery.
RLC Round 2 - Cents 32 -v- 12 South London Storm 03.05.08
SENSATIONAL CENTS STORM TO VICTORY
South African winger Jacques Steinberg grabbed a hat trick of tries on his debut for the club as St. Albans Centurions cruised to a 32 - 12 win over South London Storm on Saturday.
It was another dominant performance from the super Cents who have now won two out of two and are already well on course to retain their championship title as the Southern Premier Rugby League season gets underway. With Shane Rampling playing at scrum half in place of Kristian Warner, out for at least six weeks with a neck injury, the St. Albans side started well. Rampling cut through the Storm defence before passing to Jacques Steinberg, who gave the crowd a hint of what was to come when he showed his power and pace, crashing over the line but losing the ball in the process.
On fifteen minutes it was Rampling again who slipped the ball out to speedster, Chris True. The elusive right winger sliced through the South London defence and when eventually tackled, offloaded the ball superbly to Ross Dempsey for the centre to round off a spectacular try. Jack Cornthwaite added the goal.
Straight from the kick off the Centurions were unlucky when the referee controversially gave a knock on against Roy Dube, though the ball appeared to have come off the burly prop’s legs. With possession from the scrum a few metres out, South London centre, Dave Melling grabbed a try, converted by Chris Beaven.On twenty minutes Storm increased their lead, after the Centurions were penalised, when Beaven scored under the posts and added the extra two points himself.
The rest of the first half seemed to be a series of missed chances or half chances for the Cents as they tried to fight their way back. First Russ Kellaway threatened with a good break down the left. Nick Surtees, Paul Maloney, Al McCully and Jacques Steinberg all ran strongly. There was good work from Miles Dempsey with Richard Smith and Dave Hancock both going close. But the home team just couldn’t convert their chances and the half ended with them trailing 6 - 12.
Jacques Steinberg on his way for another try.
It was an entirely different story in the second half as the Centurions moved up a gear and ran in 26 unanswered points against a visibly tiring Storm. After only five minutes, Rudi van der Merwe intercepted deep in the St. Albans half and set off on an electrifying run downfield. Tackled some 15 metres short by Ayres, the South London winger held on in the tackle and was sin binned for a professional foul. This was a significant turning point in the game as the Centurions took full advantage of their numerical superiority, running in three tries in the space of just seven, breathtaking minutes.
From the penalty Matt Spencer, making a great impression in only his second game for the club, waltzed over for a well-deserved try. Almost immediately, a scintillating burst from Nick Surtees saw him pass to Shane Rampling to plunder four more points with full back Jack Cornthwaite converting both tries.
Then Rudi van der Merwe slipped the ball to Jacques Steinberg on the left flank and the winger was off on a sixty five metre run, outpacing the cover defence for a glorious touch down.
With the Storm back to full strength, it took the rampant Cents a little longer to register their next score but it was well worth the wait. On seventy minutes Paul Maloney, who was having another excellent game, set up Shane Rampling. The years looked to be rolling away from him as Rampling sent the ball wide to Surtees, who got it out to van der Merwe. Then it was out to Steinberg to score again in the left hand corner.
Steinberg’s hat-trick was a wonderfully worked, length of the field affair as van der Merwe gathered the ball on his own line and showed tremendous speed as he cut through the South London ranks before combining superbly with Steinberg for him to notch up his third try of the afternoon. When Dave Hancock added the goal, it was 32 - 12 and the victory was complete.
Coach Rampling was delighted with his team’s display. “All in all it was a fantastic effort from all the boys who put the jersey on,” he enthused. “We scored some fantastic tries today. It was a tough, physical game as expected and we gave away too many penalties, especially in the first half. But in the second half our defence was much tighter and all our passes stuck. I’m very proud of the boys.”
St. Albans Centurions Development Squad completed a great afternoon for the Cents as they beat South London Storm 2nd Team 16 - 14 in their first game of the season.
Next Saturday May 10th the Cents are away to Ipswich Rhinos, unbeaten in the league so far this season. “It’s going to be a real test,” said Rampling. “But the boys are up for it. We’re looking to make it three wins out of three.”
Team: Cornthwaite (3 goals); True; R. Dempsey (try); Steinberg (3 tries); van der Merwe; Kellaway; Rampling (try); Dube; Smith; McCully; M.Dempsey; Spencer (try); Maloney; Surtees; Lye; Martell; Hancock (goal)
Rampling crosses the try line
Nick Surtees on the charge
