A first-half hat-trick from Alex Ricci gave Verulamians a comfortable victory over Bank of England on Saturday.

Their 39-0 win came in wet conditions, normally associated with 10 man, ‘stick it up your jumper’ rugby.

However Vees were able to master the slippery pitch, producing an impressive display of running and handling.

They attacked from the kick-off and were rewarded when winger Ricci touched down in the corner.

Ricci almost scored a second from the restart. The Russell brother centre partnership broke free, making 40 metres, but the final pass to the winger was spilled, preventing a certain try.

He made no mistake shortly after, scoring in the corner again after a catch and drive from a lineout made 15 metres.

His third was secured after 30 minutes, squirming through three tackles to score.

The try stirred the opposition into life and the final 10 minutes of the half saw Bank of England threatening the Verulamians line.

However, the defence held firm sending Vees into a 15-0 half-time lead.

Not to be outdone, Vees other winger, Tim Chase-Rangihuna, grabbed the first try of the second half, five minutes after the restart.

From a driving maul, captain James Hayes dived under the posts and Gareth Waters gleefully kicked his first conversion of the game.

The sixth came from Myles Costello, finishing of after a crossfield kick from Sam Townsend.

The scoring was wrapped up during the last phase of play.

The Verulamians pack, which had been dominant throughout, drove a scrum on the 22 to within five metres, allowing Sam Crowne to pick and drive over the line.

Ben Russell kicked the extras to complete a resounding result.

The win moves Vees into fifth position in the Herts/Middlesex Division one table and victory on Saturday could see them overtake Hillingdon Abbotts, next week’s opponents.