Relief was the over-riding feeling for Old Albanian head coach Andy Holloway after seeing his side pick up their first win of the season on Saturday.

OAs had failed to win in their first eight National League One games and had only two losing bonus points on the board. After Saturday, they have seven after a thoroughly impressive 31-7 victory over Wharfedale.

Speaking after the game, Holloway said: “I knew [a performance like this] was there, although it’s taken longer than I would have liked to get the first win on the board.

“There’s a bit of relief but I’m pleased that what we’ve done in [training] regarding how we play in attack came through. Where we thought we fell short last week, that came to the fore [against Wharfedale] - our depth in attack and defensively we were superb for the whole game.”

OAs looked a different side to the one that was dismantled by Loughborough Students and Rosslyn Park, highlighted by a punishing hit by Ollie Cooper-Millar and four tries, the best of which was near the end of the game as Sam Lunnon linked up with Jimmy Spiers before a 40-metre run-in.

“Our attack has taken a while to click; so give the playes credit for the performance. The stat lines are getting better; that’s what they’re bringing on Saturdays,” Holloway told the Herts Ad.

“We’ll take a lot of encouragement from this game and keep building on it.”