Late Boxer kick wins it for UCS against Harpenden

UCS Old Boys came from behind to beat promotion-chasing Harpenden when James Boxer converted a late penalty try to clinch a 12-10 victory against the second placed visitors.

Harpenden opened the scoring with a converted try on 20 minutes after UCS were penalised for holding on in the tackle. They increased their lead soon afterwards when they slotted a penalty from directly in front of the posts.

UCS looked to have it all to do when Ross Stirling was sin-binned before the break, for killing the ball, but UCS are made of stern stuff these days and hit back in the second half with a try from hooker James Raftery.

UCS were then reduced to 13 men when Rich Bower was yellow carded, but they continued to attack.

As the Harpenden back row disbanded and tried to stop the drive illegally, the scrummage collapsed with the ball at number eight with Ross Stirling’s feet and the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try. Boxer coolly slotted the conversion to secure victory.

Captain Daniel Stewart said: “We deserved the victory and we look forward now to next week’s home encounter with London New Zealand. A win from that game will surely secure our Division Two status for next season and start to see the club climb into the top five.”