A sluggish start for the Twisters allowed Marlow to put three points on the board early into the game ; the visitors then continued to hold possession well but with no end product, despite being a player up after Cathal Sheehan's yellow card ten minutes in.

Priorians grew into the game and levelled things up through a well taken Will Taylor penalty, shortly followed by a typical Sheehan break into the 22 that set the basis for a move wide, where captain Damien O'Dwyer hustled his way over the line to deservedly put OPs 10-3 up.

With the pendulum swung back in favour of the hosts, Marlow's penalty count began to tally, allowing OPRFC a set piece opportunity deep in opposition territory. An irresistible rolling maul saw Mishka Fibbens come up with the ball and the lead was stretched to two scores, 15-3 at half time.

A mixture of poor handling from Marlow and good pressure from Old Priorians at the restart saw Sheehan fall just short of the line, yet the dividend was eventually paid as the pack produced a carbon copy at the lineout to put Fibbens over for his brace.

The general narrative of the second half fell very much in favour of OPs and yet another rolling effort yielded a result, Inder Sohi securing the try bonus point on the hour as the lead stretched out to 27-3.

Hotheadedness prevailed for both sides, with Marlow down to 12 players at one point, Fibbens also receiving a yellow for OPs. Poor handling took the sting out of any home impetus - indeed, the visitors did well to bag themselves a consolation try late on, converted to make it 27-10, the full time whistle sounded shortly thereafter.

While the scoreline reflects a general sense of Priorians dominance, Marlow spurned chances to put themselves in control of the tie, not executing well in the crucial phases and unable to match the home side's level of fitness.

OPRFC could have afforded themselves more patience with the ball - especially with a three man advantage - but will be generally happy with a decent 80 minute performance.

Wilf Hoskyns was awarded Player of the Match for his tireless efforts at hooker, up against a sturdy pack ; his excellent throwing and work in the loose made for a well merited selection.

Up next is Hemel Hempstead away on the 14th September.

SCORERS

T : O'Dwyer, Fibbens 2, Sohi

C : Taylor 2

P : Taylor