Played in atrocious conditions, with the pitch cutting up form the first whistle, OPs were the first to put points on the board, Will Taylor slotting a penalty after ten minutes. In a generally dire first quarter, Hemel made a breakthrough on the 25 minute mark, flanker Will Temperley on the end of a cross field kick to slide in and take the score to 5-3.

Taylor hit back 10 minutes later with another three pointer, the score 6-5 at the break in a largely forgettable half, neither side able to do much with the slippery ball and any promising breaks stymied by the muddy ground.

With the match evenly poised, it was Camelot who were able to sprinkle some magic in the second half, taking advantage of some poor handling by Old Priorians to run in two tries before 50 minutes, Hearn converting one of these chances to move the score to 17-6.

OPs had huge amounts of territorial advantage following, but without a first choice thrower, couldn't make proper use of lineouts in opposition 22 and were pegged back by a strong Hemel defence. Eventually, the home side advanced down the pitch, Hearn taking a successful shot at goal just after 70 minutes to take the lead to two scores ; the final nail in the coffin came just a minute before full-time, the busy and impressive Freddie Fletcher diving across the line following a 5 metre scrum - 27-6 the result, with Hearn kicking the conversion.

This was a very disjointed Twisters performance, with a number of key players missing and unable to adapt to the conditions ; credit should be given to the opportunist mindset of Hemel Hempstead, able to make the percentages count and making fewer mistakes across the 80 minutes.

Such is the gap at the top that Old Priorians retain a spot in the top three, and may be able to cement probable promotion with a win against Hackney at the start of March.

OPRFC SCORERS

P : Taylor 2