St Ives Rugby Club more than held their own in their defeat to high-flying league leaders Wellingborough over the weekend, with the 38-7 scoreline flattering the hosts.

The scoreline was harsh on the Bulls, who put in an impressive performance to stay within touching distance of their opponents until three quick tries from Wellingborough in the last 10 minutes put the game to bed.

When asked about his feelings on the game, Head Coach Paul Humphreys said: "Proud. And the boys can also be proud of their performance.

"For 70 minutes, the game was a tight affair and could have gone either way."

Despite 11 positional changes to the starting team, St Ives started the game with some strong tackling, consistently driving Wellingborough back and frustrating the hosts to go in at halftime only 12-0 down.

A converted Marc Tirant try early in the second half cut the deficit to only five points, but Wellinborough quickly restored their lead to make it 19-7 before a flurry of scores in the last 10 minutes sealed victory for Wellinborough.

Defeat means St Ives remain tenth in the Counties 1 Midlands East South division ahead of their next game at home to Long Bucky on March 4.