Unfortunately Glen had to borrow a couple of wingers to make up the 15 which Albies did provide though technically this has been recorded as a forfeit in the competition table.

The first twenty minutes was scoreless as Glen surprised Albies with their level of defence, led particularly by Sam Baker and Nick Price who applied plenty of pressure on the Albies side. Unfortuanately Captain Ben Lockwood was forced from the field with an injured wrist only 20 minutes in.

Albies camped in the Glen 22 for some time only for the ball to be turned over by some continual pilfering by the likes of Richard Salmon and Nathan Purvis, on two occasions being scooped up by Sam Baker who demonstrated his amazing left boot with some great clearing kicks. Eventually the Albies pick and drive made in roads that led to three tries before half time.

Coach Ron de Cleene was very pleased with the commitment being shown especially considering the fitness (not to mention age) of most of the team. The front row of Simon Jolly, Jason de Cleene and Andrew Hall performed admirably, with Hall showing his versatility and aggression in the forwards. The scrum and lineouts troubled Albies all day and with each set piece the Glen boys got more cohesive, winning two tight heads in the second half.

The second half was very evenly contested, Glen scoring a fabulous 80m try under the posts, converted by Andrew Hall. Another break was made by big back Ashley Whitehead only to be called back by the referee for a dubious “late tackle”. A late break by Joe Tonkin saw another try go begging as Tonkin’s pass outside to Whitehead went to ground with an unmarked Brendan Hay on the inside. With Glen down a man due to Richard Salmon being issued with a yellow card, Albies fitness saw them finish with two tries late in the second half, to run out winners 33 to 7.

An impressive performance against the strongest side in the competition. Albies ran over Guyra the week before 77 to nNil, so the Glen side can be proud of their effort. Best for Glen were Sam Baker and Andrew Hall.

This weekend the Elks take on new entrant Dorrigo at home in Glen Innes at 3pm Saturday. This is the first of six home games of the 12 round competition. Any interested players are more than welcome to come along for a game. Training is on Wednesday nights at 6pm and there is a real atmosphere of having fun and enjoying rugby.