Ruthless Saxons bounce back to beat Harpenden

Southend Saxons 53-22 Harpenden

SOUTHEND SAXONS three-match winless London One North sequence was brought to an emphatic conclusion as Harpenden were on the receiving end at Warners Bridge.

The ambitious Seasiders had slipped off the pace. Back-to-back defeats against Eton Manor and Colchester followed by a frustration draw at struggling Sudbury had left Director of Rugby, Josh Ward, a frustrated figure. However, his players responded perfectly to reignite their promotion push against another side amongst the chasing pack.

“Today was about being ruthless and getting back on the horse, we did that and more, I’m delighted,” Ward enthused. 

“Our energy was superb and we applied real pressure from the start scoring some good team scores. They’re a good side and put some good phases together in the build-up to their scores but they’re areas we need to brush up on next week before we travel to Amersham. 

Ward continued: “We’ve got some injuries to monitor this week including Werner who picked up a nasty knee knock, but I’m immensely proud of our group, having only 70% of our full squad available and gaining outcomes like our Saxons and Priors did today speaks volumes. 

“I thought Ian Morrison and Joel Armitage were outstanding today and it was brilliant to see Alfie Justice back out there playing for the Priors. We had a plan today and we executed it. 

“The support is underestimated, our supporters get us through some tough moments in games and today was no different. That one is dedicated to young Charlie who we lost a few weeks back”.

Southend Saxons: Tom Reeman, Dan Forster-Knight, Joel Armitage, Will Cooper, Jake O’Kill, Dan Read, Connor Cooper, Matt Wagstaff, Harry Branch, Ben Lloyd, Tom Day, Chris Vaughan, Simon Wasley, Fraser Banks, Werner Nel

Southend Saxons Reserves: Collen Smith, Ian Morrison, Tom Richards

Harpenden: Sean McLoughlin, Pete Sims, Ben Campion, Ed Preston, Oli Lacey, Michael Goode, Matt Jillians, Hamish Renwick, Fred Gulliford, Tom Stagg, Billy Sach, Bobby Tane, Matt Deane, Conor McClean, Tom Sweeney

Harpenden Reserves: Gus McSporran, Ant Rojas, Adam Wilkinson