There are times when a day starts miserably and then gets worse. Such a day was last Saturday, at least if one had OA affiliations.

We have seen recently at the highest level how a coach is unable to detail the reasons for the non performance of an entire squad and such occurrences are, mercifully, so rare they may perhaps be consigned to the drawer marked “unexplained!” These things happen and it would be unfair to apportion blame but it is true to say that if something can happen, eventually it will happen. The trick is to ensure it only happens once in a blue moon!

There was no denying the industry of the team. Effort was put in prodigiously. Time and again Redruth assaults were repelled; but, even as early as the first quarter, too many half breaks were allowed, and this tends to inflate the confidence of the attacking side. The feeling grows that one of these minor incursions will become the finished article. So it proved in the eighth minute when Outside Centre Shae Tucker completed the first full breach.

Three kickable penalties were conceded in the next 25 minutes and Fraser Honey accepted two of these opportunities with grace and gratitude. However all was not lost yet and in filthy conditions it has to be said that the OA set piece was doing well before the interval.

The third quarter set all to nought for Albanians. Twelve minutes past the restart the OA poker hand had been undone by a pair of Jacks. First Jack Hodge emerged from the warmth of his loose head station, cantering over untroubled by the conditions and then Scrum Half Jack Oulton, with by far the moment of the game, scampered past the home short side defence from a tight scrum fully forty metres out. Both efforts were improved by fly half Honey to leave the Hertfordshire side in a decidedly sticky situation.

By now the horse had well and truly left the stable and even though Jamie Townsend’s men rallied enough to allow Blackheath guest Andrew Daish to touch down, Matt Shepherd increased the margin once more to 25 points.

OAs travel to newcomers Westcliff next Saturday and will want to expunge this last performance from the memory. Kickoff 14.30hrs.

Brian Quinn,

Press