Spectators were treated to a ten-try thriller over the weekend as St Ives Rugby Club secured a hugely important first away win of the season, emerging 45-28 victors against fellow strugglers Dustablians.

With both sides at the foot of the Counties 1 Midlands East South division, the game was a nervy and topsy-turvy affair for the first 60 minutes until Ives stepped up a gear and made good use of prolonged periods of possession.

Coach Paul Humphreys said: "It was an indifferent game. We started well, scoring early inside the first 5 minutes, but then our performance dropped off.

"To turn around behind at halftime was beyond belief!"

The Hunts Post: MoM Ollie Bartlett makes yet another break, shifting from flanker to centre in the second-half.MoM Ollie Bartlett makes yet another break, shifting from flanker to centre in the second-half. (Image: Paul Cox)

"The substitutes and changes made a difference...and we started to play a little better. We made breaks, continuity was better, and our dominance started to show.

St Ives raced out the traps at the beginning, with second-row Tom Woodrow scoring the first tries for the Bulls on either side of a Dunstablians try.

A lapse of concentration gave Dunstablians a scrum five metres out as the half closed, from which swift hands saw them score in the corner, and with the addition of a penalty, they led 15-12 at the break.

The Hunts Post: Michael Sykes and Greg Dale combine to thwart a Dunstablians winger on the run.Michael Sykes and Greg Dale combine to thwart a Dunstablians winger on the run. (Image: Paul Cox)

Dunstablians increased their lead by three shortly after the restart, but moving eventual Man of the Match Ollie Bartlett into the centres turned the momentum back in St Ives' favour.

Bartlett and Max Flint both scored, but Dunstablians hit back with a penalty to make it 26-21 heading into the final quarter.

The Hunts Post: Winger and try scorer Harry Smith leaves the defence in his wake.Winger and try scorer Harry Smith leaves the defence in his wake. (Image: Paul Cox)

Despite losing a man to the sin-bin, St Ives held their nerve and ran in three tries to take the game away from the opposition in a show of great resilience.

Dunstablians grabbed a consolation score before the end but it was too little too late to prevent St Ives from securing a bonus-point victory.

St Ives are now only five points behind ninth-placed Oakham but have the unenviable task of trying to topple league leaders Wellingborough at their own ground in their next league fixture on February 18.