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St Helens RLFC
News
Reserves Teach Students a Hard Lesson
Cambridge University 0 v 86 St Helens Reserve Team
By Graham Henthorne, Team Manager.
Having watched their Reserve team colleagues do so well yesterday against Super League opposition in Scully’s Testimonial Match, the players on show today knew they had a hard act to follow. However, inspired by the new Captaincy of Liam Bland (you know how much that’s cost you Blandy!) they served up a 16 try demolition of the hapless students playing some sparkling rugby in the process.
The students, playing the first of three games against Super League opposition in preparation for the Varsity match against Oxford in March, couldn’t handle the pace, power and ruthlessness of the Saints.
As early as the first set, the dye was cast as Haggy bore down on the full back causing him to skew his kick alarmingly (something that was to happen frequently). When in possession the pack then took control with Blandy, Gilly (backing up last week’s wonderful performance) and then Sam Thompson making countless yards down the middle. With such field position it was easy for Dale, in his favoured position of Stand Off, and Chris Frod to orchestrate the back line. Which they did to perfection.
On the back of a Bland/Gilchrist break, Haggy opened the scoring on 6 minutes from Weedy’s inside ball after Dale and Froddy had spread the ball wide. Alex Asher added the second before Dale opened them up down the middle. He took it to the full back before putting the supporting Jake Emmitt in for his first try in Saints colours. After surprisingly missing with his first two attempts Dale converted with the first of his 11 goals.
Straight from the kick off Paul Johnson broke through putting Akin Okunola in from 40 metres for his first Saints touchdown. Dale then put a great ball out to Woz Thompson who burst through to score before Danny Fairhurst scored the final try of the half after a great blind side break from Chris Frod.
The second half brought more of the same punishment for the Light Blues as the Saints tore them to pieces with 10 second half tries, the last three of which came in a 15 minute spell with the Saints down to 11 men due to injuries!
Martin Waring got a brace, Dale scored his first four pointer as a Saint, Woz, Akin and Danny Fairhurst got their second tries apiece, Chris Frod and Matty Ashurst both got in on the act and Haggy completed his hat-trick.
The pick of the lot was certainly Haggy’s second on the hour mark. Fantastic interplay at speed saw the ball moved from Dale to Frod to Haggy to PJ before he fed it back inside to Haggy to complete a breathtaking 50 metre move.
Don’t get me wrong, there will be infinitely harder tests to face in the coming season than that posed today by the Light Blue students of Cambridge University. But you’ve got to have skill to play with the flair exhibited today and you’ve got to hone those skills to be able to produce them on the big stage. This was a relatively young side with yet more debutants from the Junior Academy stepping up and making their mark on a higher level of rugby, gaining invaluable experience in the mean time.
The melding of the talent on show yesterday and today has certainly made sure that Head Coach Ian Talbot will have some hard decisions ahead when naming the team for the Reserves first fixture away to Bradford on February 23rd.
This season has seen Physio Joey Hayes move up to join the First Team Squad meaning that Nathan Mill has stepped up to join the Reserves. The Head Honcho of the Rockadale Massif’s promotion does seem to have gone slightly to his head, however, as he was late for the coach. When questioned about his tardiness he admitted that it was apparently due to a Malt induced dream of scoring the winning try for the Saints. Remarkable what fertile imaginations some people have!
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Cambridge University
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St Helens Reserve Team
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Cambridge University:
Tries:
Goals:
St Helens Reserves:
Tries: Akin Okunola (2), Alex Asher, Dale Bloomfield, Chris Frodsham, Danny Fairhurst (2), Warren Thompson (2), Kurt Haggerty (3), Jake Emmitt, Matty Ashurst, Martin Waring (2).
Goals: Dale Bloomfield (11).
Half Time: 32-0
Full Time: 86-0
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