Home victory means jump to fourth in table
The Old Priorians were back at Perivale on Saturday to face off against recently relegated National 3 side Tring. The OPs who were in 7th place in a tight top half of the table were looking to build on last week’s win against minnows Harrow with another win again 3rd placed Tring in what was a very wet, yet scintillating encounter.
Old Priorians dominated possession in the opening 15 minutes which was finally rewarded with Daniel Porter crashing over the line with a couple of hapless Tring defenders in his wake to make it 7-0. Tring however, weren’t going to simply roll over. The away side won possession following the kick off which was soon followed by a defensive penalty committed by the hosts who were caught napping around the fringes in the boggy conditions. Trings’ tactics were soon clear to see with a kick to the corner followed by a driving maul from the line out resulting in a try to even the score at 7-7. The Old Priorians responded well however with a second try for the home side in the form of vintage Seb Oddi flying down the wing to make it 14-7. The home side continued to build on this momentum and after a period of sustained pressure were rewarded with two penalties which Ross McIntonsh duly converted with the home side leading 20 – 7 at half time.
The second half continued where the first half ended. Old Priorians continued to pressure an ill-disciplined Tring side who at one period were down to 13 men. The home side continued to convert this pressure into points with further penalties giving the Twisters a commanding 32 -7 lead with 20 minutes to go. In the final quarter Tring started to build some pressure and were rewarded for their efforts by two tries despite a dogged defence for most of the game by the Twisters. Their efforts were too little, too late however with a final score of 32 – 21 to the home side.
The result means Old Priorians jump to 4th whilst Tring drop to 5th in what continues to be a very close top half of the table. Old Priorians travel to Chelmsford next week who currently sit in 12th position in the league.
@OPRFC
18th November 2015
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