And with their Division II side St Clement C also in winning form, beating St Ouen B 31-24, the Saints signalled their intent for the season ahead.The official start to the season was the whistle blown by DBO head of banking Mark Wildman at the beginning of the match.The Saints started well, scoring a goal within the first two minutes, despite losing the toss and first centre, and looked every inch the reigning champions.Understandably St Lawrence A were initially nervous, but they were quietly determined.
They had a few changes to their young team, bringing in Laura A’Court as wing defence although they were missing key defender Nikki Jubb.St Clement consistently denied their opponents the ball, with tight, controlled making, and dominated not just the centre court but play generally.Tammy Fage (WD) had a high calibre game and combined well with centre Carol Horsfall.St Lawrence put on a valiant display and netted three quick goals just before half time, to bring the score to 26-6.The champions produced a display of fast, fluid passing in the third quarter, while their opponents struggled to stem the flow though they never gave up.The excellent and accurate feeding in to goal shooter Zoe Hotton increased St Clement’s lead to 37-7 but at the other end of the court St Lawrence GA Natalie Rondel, with GS Stephanie Hales in strong support, scored some excellent long shots.However, the champs showed their class and their team spirit, and went on to win 60-11.Umpires: Jenny Le Cocq and Gill Kaye.
