Market Harborough 34 St Ives Bulls 0 A WEAKENED St Ives slumped to defeat at well-drilled Market Harborough. Captain Ross Thompson, try sensation Marc Sands and the youthful back-row trio of Steve Burke, Matt Ball and Jason Price were all missing from the

Market Harborough 34

St Ives Bulls 0

A WEAKENED St Ives slumped to defeat at well-drilled Market Harborough.

Captain Ross Thompson, try sensation Marc Sands and the youthful back-row trio of Steve Burke, Matt Ball and Jason Price were all missing from the line-up.

An early injury unsettled the St Ives pack and Market Harborough took advantage to score a penalty after some lax defending by Saints.

The hosts increased their lead soon after with an excellent driving mall.

Saints' best chance came halfway through the first half after a quick penalty in their own 22. Good handling and off-loading powered the visitors up the touchline but Saints could not hold on to the final pass.

Saints were 20-0 down at half time and despite an improved display, with Michael Sykes shoring up the back row, the hosts added two further scores.

Stand-in captain David Williams said: "I was disappointed with the first half performance considering the good results of the past two weeks, but I was pleased with the effort and defence of the second half considering the number of players playing out of position.