Look: Big crowd watch Old Laurentians seal promotion to

...Midlands One with play-off triumph over Old Salteians.

Old Laurentians claimed their place in Midlands One when they produced the best performance of an outstanding campaign to claim a 32-23 play-off triumph against Old Salteians.

The pain at being pipped to the title by neighbours Newbold on Avon was wiped away in front of a bumper Fenley Field crowd as Lee Hersey reeled off a handsome hat-trick of tries to subdue a combative Salts unit.

Fly-half Dan O’Brien provided the tactical nous in the OLs game-plan, his open-play kicks constantly turning defence into attack, and having opened the scoring with a penalty he supplied the pass for, and added the extras to, Hersey’s first try.

Salts retaliated when flanker Dean Morris crossed in the corner and although O’Brien speared home a drop goal, a yellow card for Ben O’Riordan disrupted the OLs flow and Zac Mann’s penalty trimmed the interval deficit to 13-8.

OLs started the second half brightly, O’Brien forcing a lineout in the corner and O’Riordan teeing up hooker Dom Hammond, and although Mann quickly picked off his second penalty, O’Brien and Jon Bean gave Hersey another chance to demonstrate his pace for another try expertly converted from a tight angle.

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