HAC ended Old Priorians' eight game winning run with a 27-14 win at the Artillery Ground, the Twisters largely unable to breach the host's impressive defence.

There was little between either side within the first opening quarter with much of the game taking place around the halfway line ; OPs had a chance to take the lead with a shot at goal but the effort was shanked to give H.A.C a reprieve. It took 22 minutes for the deadlock to break, H.A.C kicking deep into OPRFC territory, opting for the catch and drive which paid its dividend in the form of a converted try.

Priorians found themselves on the backfoot for large swathes of the first half and thought they had relieved pressure with a boot up field, only for fly half Edward Johnson's fine individual effort to see the work undone, cutting a swathe through the defence with deft footwork and beautifully angled running to score just beyond the half hour to put the home side 12-0 up.

A third was added shortly after, the Twisters caught napping in the midfield to give second row Finn Walsh a clear shot at the line, duly taken despite attempts at a last ditch tackle. Another missed conversion, but the lead was seventeen points at this stage.

OPs needed a quick response and duly delivered, putting the rolling maul to use before some tight phases were then sent wide, then a pass inside to set up Ben Ridley for his fifth try in as many games since his return to the club. Emilio Uribe converted for 17-7, which is how the score remained as the half time whistle went.

Priorians were awarded another kickable penalty in the opening minute of the second half that fell agonisingly wide, which would have taken the visitors to within one score. They were able to build some pressure following the restart, yet H.A.C managed to snaffle the ball from the breakdown, chip downfield and head over in the corner, though there was some hint of high tackling in the build up.

Much of the remainder of the match became scrappy, with OPRFC somewhat loose with their passsing and H.A.C staunch, strong and solid in their defence. While tempers never flared, a yellow card was always likely to be brandished at some point and H.A.C flanker Charles Bolton was the recipient in the 73rd minute.

This gave OPs one of their best chances of the game, one they didn't spurn ; a tap and go was taken, a slow and steady move to the whitewash and Brohdie Cunningham's quick dart and dive for the line put his first Priorians points on the board in his first season with the club. Matt Ilube took over kicking duties with Uribe now off the pitch and converted well to set up a potentially interesting finish.

However, any thoughts of a late comeback were vanquished immediately, H.A.C awarded a penalty right in front of the posts which was slotted to make it 27-14 with three minutes left on the clock. There was time for one more OPRFC attack, but it came to nought and the hosts saw the rest of the game out.

The scoreline is a fairly accurate reflection of the 80 minutes, perhaps hinging a little on the missed penalties as well as some spurned attacking phases that were either neutralised by H.A.C or put to waste through panicked handling.

Priorians remain fifth in Regional 2 Thames, with an equally stern test in the form of London Scottish the next fixture in two weeks.

OPRFC SCORERS

T : Ridley, Cunningham

C : Uribe, Ilube