Try-happy Cents brings grand final success and leaves coach thrilled

The coach of the Toulmin Drive-based rugby league club was left bubbling with giddy excitement after his side stormed to a 58-32 success at Hemel Hempstead.

They scored 11 tries in total with eight different players on the score sheet. Jake Lawrence, who scored on of them, also landed seven conversions.

Connor Moor charges forward for the Cents. (Image: Darryl Brown)

Wingad said: "It was a game that was played with so much fire and enthusiasm in this heat and on so hard a pitch.

"There is so much I want to say. We had a game plan and squad rotational order and it all came together. The Tigers are a very good team but they couldn't keep up with us.

"We have some great players in, some stand out in almost every game, but others are the heart of the team. The lads who support and play their hearts out every week. There is no team without these kind of players, they are St Albans Centurions.

"I also want to mention our young guns. We had Fin Tetlow, James Deeks and Joe Picariello playing for us and Oakley Rennie-Sivell and Max Robson-Smith who were unavailable.

"All are products of our U18 set-up, coached by Gary Tetlow, and are all good young players who came up to the first team and haven't taken a backward step."

Josh Lawrence scores his first try for St Albans Centurions against Bedford. (Image: Darryl Brown)

The game did not start as planned though with Bedford scoring two converted tries in the opening 10 minutes and an unconverted one before the halfway point of the first period.

Fortunately Cents rallied quickly with Toby Sweeney opening the scoring and Josh Lawrence following suit and by half-time they led 22-16.

Joe Deeks goes over to score for the Cents. (Image: Darryl Brown)

Deeks, one of the U18s, got try number three by powering past two defenders and Luke Ogbourn did something similar shortly after.

Jake Lawrence converted three of the four tries in the first half and a further four of the seven scored by a rampant Cents after the break.

Josh Lawrence started things off under the posts and angled run by man of the match Martin Day extended the lead to 16 points.

Luke Ogbourn on his way to score for St Albans Centurions. (Image: Darryl Brown)

Stalwart Adam Jasinski scored in the corner before Bedford pulled one back but Cents responded with the try of the game from Jake Lawrence.

He took a short pass from Sweeney on halfway, kicked ahead, and with Tigers chasing he caught it, kicked it round the full-back and raced to the line to score.

Ogbourn got his second before Bedford threatened a comeback with two tries closing the gap to 14.

Toby Sweeney goes on the attack in the grand final. (Image: Darryl Brown)

But Tetlow, another of the U18s, ended that with a score under the posts and Sweeney bookended the game perfectly with his second score to confirm the victory.