TRYFAN Edwards and Gerry Arasa combined for the try which handed the London 2 North West title to Tabard on Saturday.

For 75 minutes there was little to choose between Harpenden and Tabard, but Edwards’ broke the home side’s defence and off-loaded to Arasa who crashed over the try-line to give his team a two-point lead and the league title.

Tabard went into the game needing at least one point to ensure winning the league and Harpenden also had to do well to ensure they kept out of the relegation zone. This made the game a tense affair, fraught with errors from both sides and the outcome was never certain until the end.

The game started with Tabard in the ascendancy and denying Harpenden possession for the opening minutes. The pressure told and when Harpenden were penalised, Tabard opted to put the ball in the corner for the line out. The ball was driven from the line out, re-cycled a couple of times and then driven over the line with prop, Wilf Lake claiming the touchdown.

From the kick-off it was Harpenden’s turn to show their mettle. Putting pressure on Tabard quick handling gave Harpenden a breakthrough and centre Alan Barton was over under the posts for the try, which wing Adam Sterling converted.

The game then went into stalemate, with Tabard having more possession but making crucial errors when they were attacking. Although both sides came close the half finished with Harpenden leading 7-5.

The second half was much the same as the first although Harpenden stretched their lead with a penalty from Tom Stagg as the game went into the final quarter.

The outcome never seemed certain and it looked as though Harpenden were going to prevail until Edwards made his break for Arasa to score. In the dying minutes, Jack Reilly added a penalty to bring up the final tally of 15-10.

Next week Tabard travel to Fullerians for the final game of the season, kick-off 3.00 pm.