At the start of the match, it was clear how young the host’s backs looked. Two of them, Ben Morrow, a rapid, inventive wing with Premiership Cup experience this season, and scrum-half Henry Hodgson, are Saracens Academy players. The number 8, Matthew Branch-Holland, also a Saracens Academy player, was an England U-18 squad member last season. If that sounds vaguely ‘unfair’, balance that with the fact that three of the Old As backs have been playing for their second team all season at level 7. One of them Kahil Oreagba, on the wing, looked really impressive.

Havant struggled to get to grips with the referee, conceding around fifteen penalties, possibly more. They also failed to generate any momentum in the backs, partly through lack of possession, but also with passing inaccuracy. Will Perry, one of the outstanding wings in this league, only received the ball three times by my count, on each occasion surrounded by a posse of Old Albanian players. Havant were hampered to an extent by the early loss of talismanic forward Jack Colbourne to what looks like a season-ending injury.

Ben Holt scored an excellent individual try, beating two players on the right-hand touchline, with the side’s other scores coming from Colin Sisk in the 13th minute after his team had gone 21-0 down, and ten minutes into the second half from Angus Southon, making it 52-14 at that point. Ben Holt’s score came with twenty minutes to go, allowing the visiting Havant support to maintain some match interest with the possibility of scoring a fourth try and securing a try bonus point. They pushed, but found themselves defending at the end, conceding a try to replacement Stephen Hihetah with the last play of the match, when they needed to be at the other end. By this time a visibly shattered side were probably happy to hear the final whistle.

For Old Albanian, their rampant No7 Ben Alexander scored a hat-trick, his first try coming in the opening minute, his second just before half-time and his third half-way through the second period. Their wings, Morrow and Oreagba, both touched down in the first half and as mentioned previously caused high anxiety through their pace and support play.

Old Albanian had Havant worked out. They kept the ball alive and avoided too many rucks, while they kept Havant on the move. And by constantly cutting back inside they took advantage of what has been a Havant ‘Achilles Heel’ all season – the change of direction at pace. Havant should not have been surprised. At Hooks Lane it was the Old Albanian back five that won them the game by doing exactly this. But, it has to be said, that at times the defensive effort was slight, allowing the Old As backs to run onto them and break tackles that often lacked vigour. It was a painful watch.

Other League Matches
Barnes 36 vs 14 Guernsey
Canterbury 34 vs 33 Esher
Dorking 14 vs 35 Bury St Edmunds
Henley 28 vs 17 London Welsh
Oundle 36 vs 33 Westcombe Park
Oxford Quins 28 vs 61 Sevenoaks