Sevenoaks Rugby 1st XV chose Saturday’s away fixture at Hertford RFC, the team’s seventh outing at the newly promoted level of London & South Premier, to deliver their best performance of the season to date to secure a 27-12 victory.
Richard Adenyi-Jones put in a barnstormer of a shift for Oaks on the right wing and the first of a brace for the flying winger came on the five minute mark as he darted over, Tom Gray adding the extras. Stung into action, Hertford’s response was all but immediate and they levelled the match at 7-7. With only 10 minutes on the clock the frenetic pace was unrelenting and the travelling faithful sensed they were in for a cracker.
Oaks, battling hard at every breakdown and competing effectively in the set piece, edged into a 10-7 lead thanks to a Gray penalty when the home side got pinged at the scrum.
The navy and golds from the Paddock advanced further into the lead when another outstanding run by Adenyi-Jones saw him outpace the cover for the second of his wonderful brace, Gray again securing the extras. Oaks were fully worth the 17-12 advantage they took into the half time break after Hertford pegged them back with a try of their own.
The second half brought an intense sequence of opening salvos. The Oaks defensive patterns were put to and answered the sternest tests by the home outfit; having weathered the storm, in quick succession a penalty by Gray and converted try from Josh Livett granted the visitors some breathing space but there was to be no respite from Hertford. They continued to hammer away at Oaks, however the visitors held firm for a stunning victory.
The win for the 1st XV was backed up by a tight 6-5 victory at Home for the 2nd XV over local rivals Tonbridge Juddians. On Sunday the Club’s youngsters took centre stage and as other age groups enjoyed a range of fun training and friendly fixtures, the Academy secured a solid 45-5 win over Horsham in Round 1 of the National Cup.
This Saturday sees Sevenoaks Rugby 1st XV host Guernsey at Knole Paddock, with a 3.00pm kick off.
