RUGBY League star Rudie van der Meuwe bagged two tries to help his St Albans Centurions side reach Sunday’s Rugby League Conference Premier Grand Final against Coventry Bears.

The Wisbech-based England international’s team defeated Welsh Champions Valley Cougars 34-16 in Derby last Sunday to set-up a repeat of the 2007 final where they clinched the Harry Jephson Trophy with a 28-20 victory.

Van der Meuwe scored within a minute to give his side a fantastic start as the Centurions rushed into a 16-0 lead. He added another try in the second period to prevent a Cougars’ fight-back during a bruising encounter.

He said: “Our player-coach Shane Rampling had a phenomenal game and led from the front.

“Shane has done a great job at this club and all of the success this season is a credit to the work that he has done.

“It was a solid team performance and although we had one or two excellent individual tries the result was down to how well we played as a unit.

“The Cougars were a very big side and I think they tried to bully us into making mistakes but we didn’t panic. We just kept playing the ball rather than getting involved in a battle.

“Although final’s are all about what happens on the day we’re full of belief going into the game.

“We’ve developed an excellent winning mentality this season and are so focused so if we continue to play as we have been then we stand a very good chance.”