For the first time since an epic National Cup quarter final in March 2020, a Sevenoaks Academy 1st XV took on Old Albanians RFC as they travelled to St. Albans on Sunday.
OAs were victorious 13-17 in that brutal encounter and are a big name in national terms, so a tough fixture was expected.
Unfortunately, OAs have been victims of their own success and it became clear in the build up to the game that they were far from full strength. Injuries from school fixtures plus players unavailable due to county and other representative commitments took it's toll on the hosts. Sevenoaks had their own problems as no fewer than 11 of the provisional 22-man squad had to be changed throughout the week leading up to the match.
During the warmup, no one really knew how things were going to pan out with all the changes to both sides.
Sevenoaks received kickoff and worked an effective exit to take the game down into OA's territory. They immediately applied pressure with some incredibly physical defence deep inside the OAs 22. The home side would probably have wanted more distance on their clearance kick to touch. Oaks leapt into life as hooker Frank Kitchen, playing his first game for the academy this season, was launched into the OA's defence from a lineout starter play. The ruck ball was rapid and two phases later, a well executed backs shot gave Ollie May space to sprint down the left flank. The tackle attempt was a good one, but May's refusal to be put to ground led to a line break and Oaks' first try. Fullback Angus Hall, also playing his first game of the season, slotted the conversion for a 0-7 lead.
This early exchange set the tone for the remainder of the half. Oaks would use their kicking game to advance up the field, before applying huge defensive pressure to OA's to win the ball back. The next try came from an Oaks centre field scrum just inside the OA's half, as a beautifully weighted grubber kick from fly half Louis Bouverie was pounced upon by Hall. May scored his second a few minutes later in a carbon copy of his first try. Both were converted to give Oaks a 0-21 lead after 20 minutes.
To their credit, Old Albanians showed a great deal of determination to force their way up to halfway with some belligerent ball carrying shortly after May's 2nd try. A knock-on by an Oaks tackler gave the hosts an attacking scrum on the right-hand side, around the halfway line. The following strike move created the overlap that OA's had so desperately been seeking, but winger Max Avery read the pass perfectly to intercept and glide away for another Oaks try. This was followed shortly after by a try for No. 8, Raphi Simmonds-Dance, after more quick phase ball from a lineout starter play opened up a shortside that was exploited by scrum half Zach Ferguson. 5 tries and 4 conversions in a clinical 1st half meant that Sevenoaks led 0-33 at the break.
Oaks kicked off the 2nd half and once again used their defence to force a turnover deep inside Old Albanians' territory. Fly half Bouverie reacted quicker than anyone else and found winger Avery for his 2nd try of the game from a well weighted crossfield kick. This was a real gut punch for the hosts, who in spite of the scoreline had enjoyed some solid possession at the back end of the 1st half.
The remainder of the 2nd half was somewhat scrappy compared to the 1st. OA's enjoyed significantly more possession as the game progressed but were unable to execute their starter plays in attack. This would lead to Oaks gaining multiple possessions in good attacking positions. For whatever reason, they weren't able to capitalise as ruthlessly as the game wore on.
That being said, there was still time for 3 more Sevenoaks tries. First, centre Jack Tucker powered over on the left after more strong defence led to another turnover close to the OA's line. Bouverie pounced on a loose pass to get his reward for another fantastic performance before Frank Kitchen bookended his debut with another ridiculously powerful line off the back of a lineout to go in from 50m out. Angus Hall didn't miss a conversion in the 2nd half and the final score was 0-57.
It goes without saying that a fully tooled-up Old Albanians side would have presented a very different opposition, with no disrespect to those who wore the shirt on the day. That being said, Oaks' 1st half accuracy belied just how many of their own 'gun' players were unavailable, with several being lost less than 24 hours before the game. Indeed, this performance demonstrated very clearly that Oaks don't really have 'gun' players. Instead, what they have is 25-30 players who are all capable of executing a game plan to a high level, often when playing out of position.
Special mention must go to captain and Man of the Match James Kerton. He dealt with the adversity of losing half of his starting pack to injury in the days leading up to the game with a calm determination that has become synonymouswith his leadership style. He led a physical and enthusiastic Oaks pack, in which he was one of only two U18s, with utter surety.
Sevenoaks now look forward to another big weekend on the November 20th as the Academy 1st XV play London Irish over in Sunbury and the Academy 2nd XV play Park House in Bromley. With school National Cup and Vase fixtures removing a significant chunk of the playing contingent, it will be a huge test of Oaks' resources. We cannot wait!
Squad list : Jack Wilson, Frank Kitchen, Drew Mercer, James Kerton (C), Rui Beaufoy, Ryan Dixon, Tom Hewitt, Raphi Simmonds-Dance, Zach Ferguson, Louis Bouverie, Ollie May, Ruben Le Roux, Jake Tucker, Max Avery, Angus Hall
Subs : Andrich Skein, Peter LaTrobe