Saints came up short after travelling to Essex to face a clinical Thurrock side.

The Saints came into the game looking to restore confidence and get back to their expansive brand of attacking rugby, after a string of disjointed performances.

Despite having the majority of possession and territory early in the game, it was Thurrock that struck first after moving the ball wide off a scrum during their first visit to the OA’s 22, allowing the winger to dive over in the corner.

The game continued in a similar fashion with the Saints establish field position deep in the Thurrock half, but once again failed to convert this to points, allowing Thurrock to score a break away try to take the score at half time to 10-0.

Shortly after the break, the lead was extended to 17-0 after a penalty try was awarded to Thurrock, following a high tackle in the corner as they looked to sit down.

The Saints rallied, and responded with a try of their own, after building the phases in the Thurrock half, they moved the ball out wide to allow Caz Collie to power over from short range. The conversion was missed, taking the score to 17-5.

This would prove to be the Saints only score Thurrock added a further converted try after taking advantage of the Saints’ scrambling defence.

The Woolams outfit will rue the unforced errors and inconsistencies that foiled the fluency of their game.

Coach Sarah Mckenna said
‘Today our error count was far to high which didn’t ever allow us to play our best rugby. Treasuring possession in the right areas of the pitch will be our biggest work on if we want to continue to build. We finish the first half of the season in third place thanks to the commendable efforts from both players and management. The step up into the Championship has been a fantastic challenge so far and one that both the players and myself are relishing’

After a week off, the Saints will look to bounce back when they travel to Blackheath

Paul Adams,

Saints Manager