Old Priorian Saints continued their unbeaten start to 2026 - as well as securing consecutive wins for the first time since November 2024 - as they beat Old Streetonians II on Saturday at Hackney Marshes, inspired by a Mishka Fibbens hat trick in a 50-28 victory.

OPs went ahead within the first minute, Streetonians having conceded an offside penalty deep in their own 22, allowing Priorians to take a quick tap that went into the hands of Will Adams whose sleight of foot made for a good finish and the first score of the day, Theo Morris converting. A second was scored in similar circumstances soon after, Fibbens getting his first as he was able to crash over from short range with Rob Harvey's carry making inroads towards the line in the build up.

Old Streetonians looked to settle into the game but found themselves even further as the clock ticked further towards the end of the first quarter, another penalty given away in dangerous territory, Fibbens the benefactor once more, unstoppable as he barrelled his way across the whitewash, Cian McBride taking on kicking duties for the injured Morris and landing a conversion to take the lead to 19-0.

The hosts did well to win the ball back immediately from the restart and set up some decent phases, OPs unable to organise their defence and giving Streets their first try of the afternoon having worked their way towards the line, converted to close the gap to twelve points. That gap then stretched back out to seventeen, the electric pace of Zak Bondarenko on the wing too much for the Hackney based outfit to handle as he raced in from 50 metres, outstripping the backs for an excellent score and his first senior try for the club.

Streetonians showed no lack of fight despite their slow start and as the Saints began to concede more penalties, found themselves in desirable positions, going over for a second try on the half hour as OPs went down to fourteen, a yellow card issued for a high tackle. That soon became thirteen as a team yellow was issued for persistent offending ; now would have been an opportune time for Street to capitalise, yet the OPRFC defence held strong until the half time whistle to prevent another score, 24-14 at the break.

As the Saints returned to their full complement of fifteen, they were able to take control of the game, the best try of the match coming early on in the second half - winning a scrum on their own put in but in their own 22, Priorians put precision passes through the backs before the ball arrived in Bondarenko's hands, able once more to take on and beat Streetonian defenders, running all of 70 metres before offloading to centre Oli Wynn-Jones, joining the winger in scoring his first try for OPs.

This proved to be the catalyst for a Priorians purple patch, James Sarek the next to score after a tap and go, Fibbens getting his hat-trick soon after, McBride's conversions making it 43-14 with around 25 minutes left. Yet, a degree of complacency may have crept into the Saints game as Streetonians were able to get a score back fairly quickly to reduce arrears to 43-21, then 43-28 with fifteen minutes to go, enough time to potentially stage what would be a superb comeback.

OPs then managed to regain some composure, a number of good carries - especially by the likes of Ollie Overy-Jones - taking them into the Old Streetonians half, the pass going wide to Charlie Page, his intelligent run and step enough to take him through and put the game fully out of sight with five minutes to go. Street attempted to stage a last minute attack that ultimately proved unsuccessful, 50-28 at the final whistle.

An excellent win for the Saints against an unknown quantity, Streetonians having dropped out of Middlesex Premier towards the halfway stage of the season ; it means OPs have now won more games than they did throughout the whole of 2025. Conrad Boe was awarded Player of the Match for a physical, combative and competitive performance, covering both the back row and second row across the 80 minutes.

The Saints travel to Twickenham next Saturday to round off their January fixture list.

OPRFC SCORERS

T : Adams, Fibbens 3, Bondarenko, Wynn-Jones, Sarek, Page

C : Morris, McBride 4