The Centurions claimed their first piece of silverware in nine years after a “Grandstand” finish to an enthralling Cup Final including a perfect up ‘n’ under to set up the decisive try just two minutes from time (see video clip).
The contest looked anything but nail-biting after St Albans stormed into a 10-0 lead within the first 5 minutes. On their very first attack, Man of the Match Kristian Naylor bulldozed over in typical fashion. Three minutes later some sublime rugby league saw a quick interchange of passes and the ball slipped inside to the inspirational Sam Bucknall who brushed aside two tacklers to score under the posts. Will Curtis slotted the conversion. However, Brentwood Eels hadn’t reached the Final by accident and on their first meaningful attack, they split the St Albans defence to score a converted try. A barnstorming Scott Clewlow try and a second Curtis kick, restored the 10-point cushion, only for the Eels to score in the corner and kick the conversion from the touchline to bring them back into the game. Just fifteen minutes gone and the score was already 16-12. Then the tide really turned. On the half-hour mark, Brentwood made the most of a succession of penalties against the Centurions to work their way up the field and eventually crash over the line for a third converted try. Shortly afterwards, St Albans were reduced to 12 men for persistent offside. Despite this, they set up a great chance to re-take the lead only for the ball to be spilled on the final pass. With the last action of the first half, the Eels sneaked over in the corner for a fourth try. Half-time: 16-22. Within 2 minutes of the re-take, Josh Lawrence closed the gap to just two points with a trademark try from close-in. But 5 minutes later, Brentwood’s speedy youngsters added yet another converted try to put one hand on the cup. The Centurions then laid siege to the Eels’ try line. Wave after wave of attack were repelled by the determined but increasingly desperate Essex outfit. A was-it-wasn’t-it try for full-back Kieran O’Shea was ruled out by the touch judge for a knock-on. And both Alastair Luftig and Godson Sadu appeared to have crossed the line only to be pushed back into play by the Brentwood defence. With 5 minutes to go and the Eels reduced to 12 men for dissent, Naylor smashed through the tiring ranks of the Brentwood defence to reduce the arrears to four. Then, with just 120 seconds left on the clock, came “that kick”. Whilst there was pandemonium all around him, Bucknall calmly looked up, spotted the opportunity and launched a towering up ‘n’ under into the in-goal area. Conor Moore timed his run and jump perfectly to claim the ball and touchdown to bring the scores level. But the Cents could not relax yet. With the scores level, an unlikely hero stepped up to put the Centurions ahead... For the first time in his Centurions career, Dominic Hearne used his military experience to take on the highest pressure kick of the season. From wide out on the right his kick was long and true and Centurions were two points ahead. It is safe to say he will be taking up this responsibility on a regular basis, and the Cents are relieved to have found this hidden talent, albeit deep into the season. Somehow the Eels re-gathered the ball from the re-start and pressed for the try that would guarantee victory. On their sixth tackle, and only metres from the St Albans line, Brentwood opted for a grubber kick to split the Centurions’ defence. Unphased by the pressure, young Alex Curtis dived full length to gather the ball safely and, in doing so, seized hold of the cup. One tackle later, the final whistle sounded and the celebrations began. Player/coach Simba Mupamhanga, couldn’t contain his delight: “I knew very early on that we had something special coming together this season. Even when we’ve been depleted by injuries, everyone in the squad who’s pulled on the shirt has been committed to the cause. The atmosphere amongst the boys on Saturday was electric and they thoroughly deserved to get their hands on some silverware. What a game … and what a kick!” The Centurions meet the Eels again in the League on Saturday 27th July, 2.30pm start, in Brentwood. St Albans Centurions 30 Brentwood Eels 28 Sat. 20th July, 2.30pm k.o. Bedford You can purchase high quality photos from the game from our professional photographer Darryl Brown on our photo website. Despite an injury list as long as the Punic Wars, the Centurions marched up to St Ives with just thirteen fit men to take on a full complement of Cambridgeshire’s finest. Just two weeks’ earlier, the Roosters had handed St Albans a lesson and must have been licking their lips at the prospect of another easy victory. However, the final scoreline masks the away team’s heroic efforts.
In driving rain, the Centurions put on a 40-minute master-class in the art of defence. Wave after wave of green shirts were denied as the Centurions put their bodies on the line. Forwards Niall Braniff, Roy Dube and Callum Porter made a bone-crunching 53 tackles between them. Eventually, St Ives opted for Plan B, and on 35 minutes their left winger caught a speculative up-and-under over the line to put them on the scoreboard. On the stroke of half-time, they were behind. A rare foray into the opposition half saw St Albans win back-to-back penalties and just as the seconds ran out, player-coach Simba Mupamhanga took a short pass to evade the full back and touch down under the posts. Dale Gardner converted for an unlikely, but thoroughly deserved, 6-4 lead. The second half, however, proved to be too much of an ask. St Ives, introduced more width on their play and once Isaac Lee (who’d already been in the wars), was carried from the field of play, the Centurions’ dream left with him. On the hour mark, Gardner, who was carrying a knock from the start, hobbled to the bench and the floodgates opened. Mupamhanga was philosophical about the defeat: “by a long way, the first-half was our best defensive performance of the season. Victory was always going to beyond us against a very good team with 18 players to bring on and off but just to have them worried at half-time was a great moral success. I couldn’t have been prouder.” The Centurions meet Brentwood in Bedford for the Cup Final on Saturday 20th July, 2.30pm start. Final score: St Ives Roosters 42 St Albans Centurions 6 Sat. 6th July, 2.30pm On the hottest day of the year, a disciplined performance in the face of an over-aggressive Hemel outfit was enough to see St Albans reach the final of the East League Cup.
In the extreme heat, the game was played in four quarters to allow for additional water breaks. So fierce was the tackling in the first quarter between the keenest of local rivals, that it ended without troubling the scoreboard. However, the Centurions had had the better of the exchanges and shortly after the first-half re-started, Kieran O’Shea made this dominance count by weaving through the Stags’ defence to score the opening try, converted by Will Curtis. Stout defending kept the Stags at bay and only slip-ups close to the Hemel line prevented the Centurions from extending the lead. Inevitably, on 34 minutes, St Albans added a deserved second try when Brad Webber powered through to cap another faultless performance. Half-time 10-0 to St Albans. Refreshed after the break, Hemel were able to dominate possession and territory early in the second half and, eventually, the Centurions’ line broke to concede a converted try. But St Albans soon re-exerted control despite a succession of high tackles and niggling fouls. On 55 minutes Alex Curtis smashed over the line, soon followed by Peter Strain’s superb run which saw him break tackle after tackle to score in the corner. Hemel caught St Albans out when they recovered their short re-start kick and set up an instant reply. With 5 minutes to go, however, St Albans restored its 12-point lead as Dale Gardner danced his way through the Hemel backline to score his customary try, which Will Curtis converted. With Hemel’s short re-start knocked on by the Centurions, they recovered the ball again and from the resulting scrum added a third converted try to bring the score to within 6 points with just 3 minutes to go. Thoughts of a tie and golden-point extra time were put to bed when Hemel knocked on to concede possession. Before the scrum could be taken, the referee blew for full-time and St Albans emerged victorious. Sadly, an incident off-the-pitch left St Albans’ physio, Len McMain, with a nasty head injury to bring an unsavoury end to what had been a feast of summer rugby. The matter is under investigation. Coach Mupamhanga was delighted with the victory: “make no bones about it, this was a tough local derby. Hemel were in our faces from the outset and discipline was key. Our defence was exceptional throughout and in the end we should have won by more. These are the standards we have to maintain for the rest of the season.” The Centurions are next at home on Saturday 13th July. They face Brentwood Eels in the Cup Final on Saturday 20th July at Bedford Tigers’ ground. Both games start at 2.30pm. final score: St Albans Centurions 24 Hemel Stags 18 Sat. 29th May, 2.30pm k.o. at Toulmin Drive, St Albans What a great day of Rugby League in the South was had as Hampshire took on Hertfordshire in the scorching heat! As with all games, honours remained even and a great day of 11 a side over 35s rugby saw some real stalwarts of the game come back into the Centurions Fold.
Free Beer as always helped soothe any aches - there were no injuries in the game - and not even a hint of foul play occurred. Many thanks to Peter Longbottom for sorting the paperwork out at the 11th hour! Many thanks to Mrs O'Shea for providing the food for the players! And many thanks to Adie and his Spitfires and Aldershot brothers for travelling to us! There was even a Lancaster Bomber flyby to honour the occasion! EVERYONE HAS RECEIVED COUNTY HONOURS NOW, SO WELL DONE US! -Biggus Mickus With their top-four position in the League cemented before the kick-off, the Centurions appeared to lose focus against a St Ives team who only had to keep things simple and disciplined to run out easy victors. In complete contrast to recent weeks, the Centurions stormed into an early lead. After just five minutes Sam Beton pounced on a defensive mistake to dive over in the corner. St Ives responded with a converted try of their own before Toby Sweeney out-smarted and out-muscled the Roosters defence for a great solo try, converted by Alex Powdrell. On 29 minutes, the always impressive Alex Curtis smashed through for a third try. Minutes later, a superb up-and-under from Scott Clewlow was almost caught in the in-goal area for a fourth try. By half-time, the game had slipped through the Centurions’ fingers, too Two converted tries in the dying moments of the first half, saw St Ives enter the break with an 18-14 lead … and they never looked back. Orchestrated by their creative, streetwise half-backs, the Roosters controlled every aspect of the game. By the hour mark, they led by 42 points to 14. Whilst no-one could question their application and backbone, the more desperate the Centurions became to draw themselves back into contention, the more unforced errors they made. St Ives were content to manage the game by keeping it simple and kicking long on the final tackle to gain field position. A converted try for the Roosters in the final minute was well-deserved and brought the curtain down on a thoroughly disappointing day for St Albans. Club Chairman, Andy Lake was philosophical about the defeat: “every team has off days and today was one that we’ll try hard to forget. After the first quarter, nothing seemed to click. The effort was there for all to see but the lack of focus on basic skills cost us dearly. Let’s hope we’ve got that out of our system and we can quickly return to better performances and winning ways.” The Centurions are at home to Hemel Stags in the semi-final of the cup on Saturday 29th May, 2.30pm start. Final score: St Albans Centurions 14 St Ives Roosters 48 Sat. 22nd June, 2.30pm k.o. at Toulmin Drive, St Albans The Centurions were left to rue a succession of missed chances as a fourth away game on the run saw them lose to local rivals, Hemel Stags. On a windswept afternoon, St Albans conceded the customary early try with just a minute on the clock. But any thoughts of a walkover by the home side were soon dispelled as ferocious tackling and solid forward play brought the Saints back into an enthralling game. Chances to draw the game level went begging for the Centurions and they paid a heavy price when the Stags crossed the line again just before the half-hour mark to lead 10-0. Sterling work from always-impressive Dale Gardner was rewarded when he side-stepped half the Hemel team to score the Centurions’ first try, expertly converted by Alex Powdrell. Half-time 10-6. In the second-half, the Centurions ran the show. Marshalled brilliantly by Sam Bucknall, who was head-and-shoulders the best player on the park, the away team moved into another gear to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Gardner added his second of the day after 49 minutes. Tom Sweeney scored an excellent try of his own four minutes later. And then Niall Braniff smashed through a demoralised defence on 56 minutes. A Powdrell conversion put the Centurions 20-10 up and cruising. Further tries should have followed. But a series of careless mistakes let Hemel off and they sensed they were still in the match. On 66 minutes, the Stags broke free to score against the run of play but with eight minutes left, Centurions were still ahead 20-14 and in control. But when a converted try brought the home team level, the Centurions lost their composure. Three minutes later disaster struck when the referee missed a clear knock-on by the Stags full-back, foul play off-the-ball and, finally, a Hemel player clearly stepping into touch in order to get around the Centurions defence to score. A last-second Stags try from a hopeful up-and-under added salt to the wound. Coach Mupamhanga was devastated: “after a terrible start, we dominated the second half and should have run away as clear winners. The ref’s indecision didn’t help but it was our own decision-making which eventually cost us the points. Hopefully, it’s a lesson all the players can learn from.” The Centurions will be ready for revenge when they meet Hemel again at home in the Cup on Saturday 29th June, 2.30pm start. Final score: Hemel Stags 32 St Albans Centurions 20 Sat. 8th June, 2.30pm k.o. at Pennine Way, Hemel Hempstead The mighty Cents gave a debut to the impressive Hearne, following his whole-Army representative honours for Rugby League.
On the hottest day of the year so far, the Centurions withstood high temperatures, a huge Knights’ pack and a succession of unforced errors to return to the top of the East League with a convincing win that was anything but routine until the final quarter. The Knights also had their eyes on top spot and after racing into an early lead, dominated the tackle to keep St Albans penned in their own half. A barnstorming try from Callum Porter helped restore parity before the Knights crossed under the posts again. Next Scott Clewlow smashed through the North Herts defence with Chad Tunley adding his second conversion to level the scores. Powerful running from Hearne and Shaw caused constant problems in the North Herts defensive line, whilst Forwards Braniff, Spratt and Lee were tireless against a massive North Herts pack. The Centurions dominated the rest of the half, with Andrew Spencer and Tom Spratt adding exquisite tries and Tunley a third conversion before Knights scored against the run-of-play on the stroke of half time to leave the score at 16-22. Early chances to stretch the lead went begging as St Albans made unforced errors close to the try line. Godson Sado showed the rest how it was done to finish off a great team play, only for the Knights to go up the other end and score another try of their own. Sado soon added another just before the hour mark after a sensationally weighted looping pass from Bucknall over the North Herts defence, only for the Knights to peg the scores back once more. Assured displays from experienced player-coach Simba, Westhead and Webber calmed the Cents in the heat, as well as great team play from Maher and Gardener to pressure the crusaders side. That remained the home team’s last hurrah. In the stifling heat, the Centurions’ extra pace and mobility left the Knights’ forwards trailing in their wake. Great support lines off of the unstoppable Joe Shaw ensured Alex Powdrell scored with an impudent dart from acting half-back after a great team play. Kieran O’Shea broke the line to run in from distance. The young Rob Campbell dived over in the corner to finish off a sublime move. Finally, the impressive Sam Bucknall surged over the line to cap off a great individual performance. With conversions from Tom Spratt and Powdrell, the Saints ran out 52-26 winners. Player-coach Simba Mupamhanga was pleased by the way his players stuck to their task. “The Knights were a big team and made some crunching tackles early in the game. But our forwards hurt them, too, and we knew if we stuck at it our extra speed and handling skills would prevail. In the end we should have won by more.” We wish the best of luck in recovery to Chad Tunley, after playing through the pain for the Cents with a broken foot. Speedy recovery Chad. Final score: North Herts Knights 26 St Albans Centurions 52 Sat. 1st June, 2.30pm k.o. at King George V Playing Fields, Hitchin An away win the East Cup appeared to be the least likely outcome after Bedford stormed into a 12-0 lead after just 11 minutes to shock the mighty Cents. Careless errors by St Albans early in the tackle count repeatedly gifted possession to the Bedfordshire outfit and only desperate defence kept the score to just two converted tries.
Eventually, the Centurions settled and their irresistible forward play began to pay dividends. On 24 minutes a typically powerful run by Kristian Naylor saw him cross the line, swiftly followed by a superb, long-distance solo effort from Dale Gardner. Alex Powdrell added the conversion. The Tigers bounced back with an elegant try of their own before Cents’ Player/Coach Simba Mupamhanga scored from close in. On the stroke of half-time the unstoppable Josh Lawrence added a fourth try and the Centurions entered the break 20-16 up. The Tigers started the second half as impressively as the first and levelled the scores on 42 minutes. Stung into action, the St Albans’ forwards reacted in style with Naylor smashing over for his second of the day. But in an end-to-end contest, the Tigers refused to lie down and grabbed a converted try of their own after 48 minutes and a further try just 3 minutes later to lead 30-24 with less than 20 minutes left on the clock. Again, the forwards stepped up to the plate. After shrugging off would-be tacklers, Josh Lawrence stretched out an arm for his second try, which Powdrell converted to bring the sides level. With just over 10 minutes to go, Naylor left Bedford defenders trailing in his wake to grab his hat-trick. The conversion gave the Centurions a 6-point lead. With a series of injuries and controversial decisions testing the players to the full, the Tigers threw everything they could at a resolute Centurions defence. With just minutes to go, the home team somehow crossed in the corner to get to within two points but missed the all-important conversion. With seconds to go and Bedford attacking on their last tackle, a huge up-and-under seemed certain to set up a try, only for Powdrell to leap highest of all to grab the ball from the air. One tackle later, the final whistle sounded and the game was won. Speaking after the game, Mupamhanga displayed a mixture of pride and frustration. “The result was the most important thing today and the lads showed incredible character to get back into the game after the slow start and then to keep them out at the end. But with a little more composure that game should have been put to bed a lot earlier. The great thing is, we’re improving every week.” Final score: Bedford Tigers 34 St Albans Centurions 36 The Centurions are away to North Herts Knights on Saturday 1st June, 2.30pm start. Message to the Cents junior players from head coach Gary Tetlow :- "As you will gather from the list below, there is a very busy period ahead, with an already stretched squad and as such new players are always welcome. It’s not too late to come along and join in.
Please put the word out to any other school years 10 and 11 you know. We need more troops ! Training emphasis moves from conditioning and skills to more match based play, so for those who prefer games rather than training this is ideal. This is how the rest of the year looks – I have sent a 'Teamer' invite out for the first 5 events, please respond to 'Teamer' or email me back" Thursday 23rd May - Training, Toulmin Drive @ 630pm Thursday 30th May - Training, Toulmin Drive @ 630pm (HALF TERM) Saturday 1st June - Rutlish Raiders (a) 1030 kick off Thursday 6th June - Training, Toulmin Drive @ 630pm Saturday 8th June - Eastern Rhinos (h) 1030am kick off Sunday 9th June - Friendly 9s festival, details to be advised Thursday 13th June - Training, Toulmin Drive @ 630pm Saturday 15th June - Elmbridge Eagles (a) 1030am kick off Wednesday 20th June - Hemel Stags Blues (a) 700pm kick off Saturday 22nd June - Brentwood Eels (h) 1030am kick off Thursday 27th June - Hemel Stags Gold (a) 700pm kick off Saturday 29th June - Invicta Panthers (h) 1100am kick off Play offs from 6th July Grand Final 20th July If you would like to join , please email Gary at gptetlow@googlemail.com Southend Sharks 38
St Albans Centurions 24 St Albans Centurions gave debuts to Sado, Lee , Gardner and Jasinski who put in impressive perfomances. A much-changed Centurions squad fell to its first defeat of the season despite fighting back to parity after a disastrous opening few minutes. The travel to the Essex coast appeared to have had a detrimental effect as the Saints began sluggishly against the quick-moving Sharks. Converted tries in the second and ninth minute left the Hertfordshire outfit 12-0 down before they’d hardly had chance to draw breath. But under Simba Mupamhanga’s coaching, this side is nothing if not resilient. On 19 minutes, Joe Baker grabbed his customary try, converted by Chad Turley, to get the team on the scoreboard. The impressive Sharks scored again to stretch their lead but tries from the ever-impressive Tom Spratt and the excellent Godson Sado, both converted by Turley, saw the teams go into half-time level at 18-18. The start to the second-half was uncompromising with the teams battling hard for the upper hand. Despite heroic performances from the likes of Baker, Spratt and Niall Braniff – each completing 17 bone-crunching tackles – it was the home team that broke free to score two tries, converting one of them. For the Centurions to have any hope, they had to grab the next try. And with less than 15 minutes to go on the clock they did just that. Mupamhanga crossed the line in style and Turley added his fourth conversion of the match. The momentum was lost, however, when the Sharks managed to cross the line for their sixth try of the match. With the successful conversion the game was already lost before the home team added a seventh against tiring Centurions who had given their all. Both Coach and Manager took heart from this battling defeat. Mupamhanga believed the young lads making their debuts “had genuine raw potential and will quickly improve over the next few weeks”. Tony Bottomley has particular praise for Isaac Lee: “he’s an excellent loose forward who impressed against a very good Sharks team today. The future’s looking bright”. |
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