Vees tickled pink following derby victory against Old Albanian
Verulamians met Old Albanian on Friday night in aid of a very special cause. Vees sported a new pink strip, courtesy of skipper Matt Luckhurst, in aid of cancer research. A good crowd on a chilly evening turned up to donate in anticipation of a high sco
Verulamians met Old Albanian on Friday night in aid of a very special cause.
Vees sported a new pink strip, courtesy of skipper Matt Luckhurst, in aid of cancer research.
A good crowd on a chilly evening turned up to donate in anticipation of a high scoring game.
They weren't to be disappointed. Vees were quickest out of the traps and began to dominate the lineout which gave them valuable ball from which to build a platform.
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Vees began a try scoring spree through tries from Ross Graham, vice captain Rob Saunders, and Ashley and Darren Westhead.
Simon McCullough converted two from four for a half time lead of 24-0 to Vees.
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This shocked OA into a number of half time substitutions to try to retrieve something from the game. Vees threw what worked in the first half out the window and began to make elementary errors.
OA began to make ground through the middle and within the 20 minutes were level on points. The crowd began to sense that it was going to be a tense finish. Vees worked a number of phases and moved the ball wide with great vision from Saunders.
Winger Richmond looked certain to score but his lack of experience under the floodlights showed as a flash of light caused him to release the ball before grounding.
The game began to get niggly as both sides realised what was at stake. After returning to what they do well Vees began to win a number of rucks close to the opposition 22.
With numbers being sucked in to defence, Saunders sensed the opportunity to drop into the pocket.
Having done so he successfully imitated another local amateur player and scratched the crossbar with his drop goal. He is still waiting for the cheque. There was still just enough time for Vees to seal a 30-24 win with a late penalty from McCullough.
Once overheads were taken out of the equation a whopping �562 was raised for charity. It was fitting that Steve Mather, following his domination of the lineout, should receive the Man of the Match award after losing his father to cancer in recent weeks.
Special thanks to all involved including the match referee.
