Old Verulam third's ventured out for the first time this season and despite a good start they went down 14-8 to Stockwood Park.

Early pressure resulted in a single converted penalty by Steve Mather but their good work was undone when a loss on concentration allowed Stockwood Park to score between the posts.

At the start of the second half Vees' Chris Pugh thought he would restore his side's lead but with the line at his mercy he lost his footing and knocked on.

Things were to get worse for the Vees when Alex Cantador was sent off and the visitors eventually made the extra man count with a converted try.

Vees came back strongly though and were rewarded when Pugh redeemed himself by going over in the corner, although the conversion went wide.

In the dying minutes the home team attacked in waves and were yards away from the line when the final whistle went.

Despite the defeat, Vees will be satisfied with their opening match and the performance should stand them in good stead for the rest of the campaign.

Meanwhile, a large crowd gathered at Cotslandwick on Saturday to watch what should have been Old Verulamian's cup encounter with UCS Old Boys but with the visitors unable to field a full team, Vees were awarded the tie without a tackle being made.

Instead, the coaching staff took the opportunity of a free Saturday to experiment with the line-up in a friendly against Stockwood Park.

Vees raced to a 17-0 first half lead with tries from Dickson, Moralee and Roberts before a free-flowing second half performance saw them take the score to 60-0.

Three quarters Dickson, Roberts and Dunn increased the total before Tawhara came off the bench to go over twice. Dube and Gilbey also breached the Stockwood Park defence.

Debutant Ali Anderson was voted man of the match.

October 19, 2001 13:05