The Saints Academy brought our away campaign to an end with a win over the Huddersfield Giants.
The Saints went ahead after just three minutes when a flicked ball out the back from Ellis Archer flew into the air and was caught by Johnny Vaughan who dummied the Huddersfield defence to go over to score to the right of the posts. Ellis Archer converted to put the Saints 0-6 ahead.
That lead was doubled three minutes later after a penalty on halfway for interference, gifting the Saints the start of a full set in the Giants’ half. On the last tackle, the ball was played left where Dayon Sambou beat two defenders to ground the ball in the left corner. Archer stepped up to convert from the side-line and nailed the conversion to send the Saints into a 0-12 lead.
The Saints were pushing for a third try, but it was the Giants who would get the next one against the momentum of the game in the 20th minute. The Giants broke downfield and set up 10 meters away from the Saints line and after a grubber kick to the in-goal, Ryan Joseph scored to get the giants back into the game after Keane Gilford spilled the kick following a bounce. The conversion was kicked by Oliver Whitford to reduce the lead by six, 6-12.
But it only took the Saints seven minutes to get their 12-point advantage back after an error from the Giants following a scrum in their own 20, Saints picked up the loose ball on the right where Ben Will went over to score on his return to the team. Archer converted from an awkward angle on the right, taking the score to 6-18, leaving the Saints 12 ahead as the teams went into half-time.
At the start of the second half, the Saints picked up where they had left off, with a try in the 46th minute. A break from George Delaney within his own half saw him set Ben Lane away, who kicked for Vaughan who couldn’t quite get there first but forced a goal-line dropout. On the third tackle, the ball was played right where Ben Will dove to score in the corner to get his second try of the game. Archer just missed the kick from out-wide, extending the lead to 16 points, 6-22.
The game entered a period of no tries, despite the Saints dominating possession and having chances, the final pass just couldn’t be found, but in the 74th minute after re-entering the field, Ciaran Nolan went over from dummy half after a quick pick-up and go 5 out from the Giants line to get the Saints on the board again. Archer converted from the left of the posts, 6-28.
Saints would finish the game with the final points after Gilford picked up the loose ball on the left side of the field and made a darting run through the middle of the Huddersfield defensive line to score to the left of the posts. Archer converted from the same spot as the previous and took the final score to 6-34, keeping the young Saints in the hunt for the top spot as the season enters its final stages!
Match Summary
Huddersfield team: Ethane Wainwright, Jacob Grierson, Ryan Joseph, Darius Carter, Oliver Whitford, Ben Dean, Lewis Taylor, Joshua Rhodes, Tobias Morley, Kameron Siddique, Spencer Peel, Jayden Dayes, Tommy Mackay-Gunn.
Bench: Ciaran Raistrick, Thomas Markham, Sam Webb Campbell, Thomas Greensmith.
Tries: Ryan Joseph.
Goals: Oliver Whitford.
Saints team: Ben Lane, Ben Will, Sam Haynes, Dayon Sambou, Keane Gilford, Max McGucken, Ellis Archer, George Delaney, Ciaran Nolan, Kalan Devine, Jonathon Vaughan, Nathan Bannerman, Eliot Peposhi.
Bench: Leon Cowen, Noah Stephens, Leunbou Bardyel Well, Jamaine Carty.
Tries: Ben Will (2), Jonathon Vaughan, Dayon Sambou, Ciaran Nolan, Keane Gilford.
Goals: Ellis Archer (5 from 6).
