Old Priorians once again felt the cold hand of the curse of the last minute as a Brunel University penalty sealed victory for the league leaders in a remarkable game of rugby to close out the 2025 playing calendar, 41-40 the final score.

A try was scored every seven minutes or so, but it took Brunel just two to get their first try of the afternoon, some poor defending in the midfield from OPs allowing the visitors to break into the 22 and send it wide and score in the corner - signalling an alarm of potential things to come across the match.

The Twisters responded in decent fashion and were able to keep hold of possession well, forcing the university side into errors that gave Priorians the chance to move themselves into dangerous territory ; the rolling maul was put to good use from a five metre lineout, hooker Rhodri Darwent the one to ground the ball as OPs hit back, Charlie Harte converting to establish a slim advantage.

That lead was extended soon after with a try that was a carbon copy of the first, Darwent the scorer once more ; Harte's conversion was well charged down by Brunel to limit the gap to seven. That became twelve points towards the end of the first quarter, Ethan Wetherell making an incisive and well angled break to scoot in under the posts as Brunel continued to show their tactical inexperience.

The league leaders - who came into this fixture on the back of a 99-7 win against Grasshoppers - have often been irresistible in attack this season and that showed itself as they grounded next having gone through the phases and working their way down the pitch, aided by some Twisters indiscipline.

The game began to form a general sense of balance, with a creeping feeling that Brunel were beginning to gain a modicum of momentum. Forced back into their own 22 as the half hour mark was reached, an attempted clearing kick was charged down by captain Cathal Sheehan, who then weighted a grubber through to perfection and pounce on the loose ball across the line for a fantastic score and a guaranteed bonus point for OPRFC. With Harte's conversion, OPs made it 26-12, leaving Brunel reeling.

The mark of a potential champion is often characterised by their reaction to adversity, and much to Brunel's credit, they were able to hit back immediately, winning possession from kick off and showing their attacking prowess to reduce arrears to seven once again. A frantic first half produced no more points - but with the score lying 26-19 at half time, it was anyone's guess as to who would come out on top.

Strong defensive lines, crunching tackles and tight play were the moments that opened the first ten minutes of the second half, before an OP penalty allowed Brunel to advance deep into the 22 and deploy their own rolling maul to ultimate success, the ensuing kick going wide with just two points now separating the sides. Given their league form, one would perhaps assume that the visitors may begin to ascend towards victory.

Not so ; Brunel clearly hadn't learnt from their penalty concessions and kept providing the Twisters with the chances to attack their territory. Despite no element of surprise, it was a maul that set up the next Priorian score, Darwent breaking away having spotted a gap and sealing a hat-trick, his first for the club and at senior league level. Harte's boot was true once more to keep the scoreboard ticking over.

Nerves, anticipation and excitement built with the match now heading into the final twenty minutes, which would have only been compounded further by Brunel's well taken try in the corner, diving over with little to no space to work from, the conversion equal to that effort and the score now 33-31.

The intense nature of the game meant that there were always likely to be relative lulls in play, even if those lulls were full of high quality. A holding pattern of kicking chess emerged, until Michael Jobling's fine step and excellent break along the touchline took him 50 metres up the pitch, deftly chipping through and gathered by Rory Gaffney who offloaded to the supporting Sheehan, getting his second of the afternoon to much jubilation.

Yet, with eight minutes left to play, this was more than enough time for a well-calibred side like Brunel ; they knew that to get back to within touching distance, they'd have to keep hold of the ball, which is exactly what they did, forcing errors from Priorians and making them pay with five minutes to go as a try was scored and then converted, the large, fit and physical forwards proving their worth.

Fever pitch then headed towards its apex, the clock ticking towards full time as hearts raced along the sidelines. Valiant, stubborn and stolid defence from OPs was holding firm in the final five minutes, until a penalty was given for a high tackle in a very kickable position for Brunel University. Despite half the crowd collectively willing for it to go wide, no mistake was made and the champions elect found themselves in front for only the second time.

There was still time for a restart and for the drama to move late into injury time. Brunel spilled the ball from the kick off, presenting OPRFC with a scrum opportunity just outside the 22. Proceeding to play fifteen to twenty phases, it would only take one moment of inspiration to break through the backline and seal what would be a famous victory ; that moment never came, a knock on eventually given and the final whistle sounded, Brunel edging the fixture 41-40.

It is no understatement, nor hyperbole, to describe this game as the best of the season and quite possibly the best of the decade. A league meeting of the absolute highest grade, the manner of defeat for OPs was much different to the other close losses they have suffered so far this season and sets down a marker for 2026, showing the rest of the division that they are willing and able to compete with the best, the barest of margins separating them and Brunel.

Two points was the reward for Priorians for their endeavour, heading into the Christmas break in fifth place - one point behind Teddington - before facing Belsize Park in Central London on the 10th January.

OPRFC SCORERS

T : Darwent 3, Wetherell, Sheehan 2

C : Harte 5