Nine tries, a bonus point win, but one bad injury during Peterborough RUFC's wet weather clinic, narrow defeat for Lions, narrow win for Thorney

The dominant city side scored nine tries in their Regional 2 Midlands East fixture which included two close-range tries for first XV head coach coach Sam Crooks, who was playing his first game for 18 months because of a knee injury, and a hat-trick for scrum-half Aram Jones.

Borough probably tried to play too expansively in the conditions for the first 15 minutes as attempted offloads went awry, but once Jones dived over to open the scoring in the 15th minute they settled down and played superbly.

Crooks and Dylan Evans also crossed in the first-half with the latter beating several home players in a brilliant 50-yard burst for the line.

It was 19-0 at the break and the one-way nature of the contest continued in the second half with Crook crossing again before Jones ran in two more tries. Will Bell and Dewi Pearce also touched down and Borough were also awarded a penalty try. Byron Van Uden kicked three conversions with captain Rob Jacobs adding another.

Borough director of rugby Shane Manning said: “The performance was good especially as our away form hadn't been great. Will Bell again led from the front and Dylan Evans’ try was one of the best of the season. To hold the opposition scoreless was the most pleasing aspect for me.”

It wasn’t a completely happy day as Daniel ‘Tank’ O’Connell fracturing his ankle with just two minutes of the game to go. He is expected to be out for months.

Stamford were beaten 36-13 at leaders Market Harborough. They are at home to bottom club Wellingborough on Saturday when fifth-placed Borough host fifth-placed Northampton Old Scouts at Fortress Fengate (November 29, 2.15pm kick off).

Standings: 1 Market Harborough P9 38pts, 2 Bedford Athletic P9 36pts, 3 Broadstreet P9 31pts, 4 Northampton Old Scouts P8 30pts, 5 Peterborough RUFC P8 29pts, 6 Old Wyggstonians P9 26pts, 7 Kettering P9 23pts, 8 Daventry P8 21pts, 9 Stamford P9 19pts, 10 Old Coventrians P9 19pts, 11 Olney P9 16pts, 12 Wellingborough P9 2pts.

Peterborough Lions suffered an annoying 27-23 home defeat at the hands of fellow strugglers St Neots in Counties 2 Midlands East (South). Lions remain next-to-bottom with one win from their first seven matches.

Matthew Worrall-Clare, Ryan Bosworth and Kaiyan Benjamin scored the Lions tries at Bretton Park with Will Moore adding two penalties and a conversion.

Lions were always chasing the game after conceding several early penalties. Worrall-Clare’s try got them back to within a point at 11-12, but a converted try and a penalty from the visitors stretched that advantage to 22-11. Benjamin muscled his way over from close range to reduce the deficit again, but once more St Neots responded to make it 27-18.

Bosworth powered over to set up a fantastic final, but heavy Lions pressure went unrewarded.

Thorney broke a three-game losing streak in Counties 2 Eastern Counties by winning 14-13 at Wymondham. Staf Arnold crossed for Thorney’s try with Owen Davies adding three penalties.

The villagers are a creditable sixth following a promotion last season. They host Sudbury seconds at the Ron Jacobs Playing Fields on Saturday.

OUNDLE

Oundle’s remarkable rise up the English rugby union ladder shows no sign of stopping. The local lads moved up to second place in National League 2 East – the highest level the club has ever competed at – with a convincing 35-11 win at wet and windy Esher. Oundle are now just four points off top spot.

Oundle were always in control as their experienced players managed the game perfectly in tricky conditions. Prop Harry Morley set the ball rolling by charging over for a ninth minute try which Ben Young converted. Young would go on to successfully convert all five Oundle tries.

Grant Snelling bagged the second on 31 minutes, touching down after a trademark driving maul before the hosts grabbed an unconverted try and penalty to leave Oundle 14-8 ahead at the break. The home side threw everything at the visitors at the start of the second-half, but stout defending restricted them to a single penalty, and with the elements at their backs Oundle looked dangerous every time they attacked the Esher line. They were richly rewarded with further tries Snelling again, winger Rian Hamilton and second row forward Shay Kerry as Oundle secured an impressive bonus point win.

Standings (all played 11): 1 Old Albanians 46pts, 2 Oundle 42pts, 3 Dorking 39pts, 4 Bury St Edmunds 39pts, 5 Barnes 38pts, 6 Westcombe Park 35pts, 7 Guernsey 34pts, 8 Canterbury 32pts, 9 London Welsh 26pts, 10 Esher 24pts, 11 Havant 24pts, 12 Sevenoaks 23pts, 13 Henley 20pts, 14 Oxford Harlequins 11pts.