Petersfield 8 Aylesford Bulls 50: PETERSFIELD faced Aylesford Bulls in a Rugby Football Union Senior Vase match.

Field had been expecting to have the week off, so the team was quite different to that which would normally run out at Penns Place for the first team, and two of the players making their debuts for the first team had a combined age of 102.

It was the oldest of the debutants, regular second team player Gerry Devlin (56), who set the record for being the oldest player to score for Field’s first team in its 90-year history.

The try came as the game drew to a close, and Devlin beat a much younger winger to score in the corner.

Aylesford Bulls are undefeated in London South East 3 so far this season, and scored their first try within minutes of the kick-off.

Field rallied but threw an interception pass that was returned the length of the pitch for the visitors’ second try. The third try came within two minutes, and Field were 19 points down with just 12 minutes played.

As the first quarter ended, Field stand-off Nick Blumlein took the points on offer from a penalty in front of the posts. Notions of a fightback ended when the visitors scored two more tries in quick succession.

In the second half, the Bulls added three more tries and a conversion to seal a convincing victory.

Even when the visitors were reduced to 14 men for ten minutes for persistent offences, Field lacked the cutting edge to make them pay.

Head coach James Alder remained positive after his side’s defeat.

Alder said: “The second half was a better period for the team, with a stronger line in defence to deny Aylesford the space they had in the first.

“Aylesford are a strong side, who played a simple structure and used every player to attack, off-loading at every opportunity. We coped better in the second half but still couldn’t keep them out and the gap between both sides was evident.

“With a lot of injuries to the game it was time for the oldest player to take the field. Gerry’s first task was to tackle an Aylesford runner, the big number eight, and he stood up to the task, then finished the game with a well taken try in the corner.

“I have always stated that if you train and play for the development team you will get a chance to play first team rugby. Saturday was a positive reinforcement of that message.”