Saints focus on the league after cup run halted

After breezing through the first round of the Junior Vase, St Neots were drawn with Dunstablians, in what would be the first of three fixtures against them this season.

Saints started the brighter of the two sides, with possession immediately reclaimed from the kick-off. They began to make in-roads with hard carries, probing for gaps in the wider channels, forcing the visitors into conceding early penalties. This allowed St Neots to remain deep in the opponents half, despite several handling errors giving up possession. At the first visit into the 22, Saints were rewarded with the maximum seven points. A snappy lineout from 15m out, was taken down by Ross Hubbard, and an immediate, well-organised drive was set. Dunstablians thought they’d halted it at 5m out, but the momentum was too much, and Lewis Hall drove home a splinter unit to open the scoring. Hall added the extras, and St Neots were off to a flying start.

This brought life to Dunstable, who began to find space in the wider channels, and responded with a try of their own, followed by a penalty. Whilst St Neots continued to operate well on the front foot – and using this to open up the game with Aiden Jordan causing his normal havoc– it was the visitors who scored next. Again though, it was in the wide channels, and the lack of conversion kept St Neots well within range. The half was drifting towards its conclusion, when a high ball from gathered by James Murphy, who shifted it wide to scrum-half Will Smith. After scampering round the defence, his pass back inside released Jordan, who put his head down towards the line. A last gasp tackle brought him down short of the line, but Eddie Spall was on-hand to saunter over the line. Hall added the extras, and St Neots led 14-13.

The second half offered opportunities for Saints, with substitutes Matt Cartwright and Jordan Rook making immediate impact. However, the next score never quite came for the home team, who had to turn thoughts to defensive duties as Dunstable began to string together phases and march up away from their line. A hat-trick score for their winger put Dunstable in charge of the score-board, and despite further determined efforts, it was a lead they would not surrender.

Captain Callum Austen was resolute – “This was a team that caused us a few issues last season, yet this was a match that we looked in control of until the last few minutes. Our development as a squad is progressing as we want ” Coach Johnny Berwick echoed this – “ Training has been great once again, just some small tweaks to make to turn these tight defeats into victories. I thought the way we started that first half was exceptional, so we know we have it in us. Next week is a real chance for us, and focus is completely on that” Next week sees another home match against Bedford Queens, while The Heathens travel to Mildenhall, to reignite last season’s exciting rivalry.