ST Ives captain Jim Robinson stressed how important it had been to start well after the Bulls beat St Neots in the big Huntingdonshire derby at the Chicken Shack 38-5 on Saturday afternoon.

“We flew out of the blocks today and found ourselves with four tries on the board in next to no time,” he said. “Although the game was far from won, it put us in a very commanding position.

“St Neots came back strong in the second half and I’m delighted with the way we defended, once again we proved how difficult we are to break down.”

Indeed, the Bulls certainly did fly out of the blocks – and there was very little their opponents could do about that. From one of the first phases of the game James Wood was unleashed from a training ground move and Robinson was able to score in the corner after five minutes.

Before the game there were whispers among the St Neots fans that they would end the Bulls’ Midlands Four East South seven-match winning run, but just three minutes after the first try, Woods again broke through to score a second, and then Russell Warrington scored another on 12 minutes.

St Ives were picking holes in the Neots defence at will – and on 20 minutes another overlap saw the ball travel along the back line to flanker Adam Scott who collected the ball and scampered over for 24-0. It was devastating stuff.

Having been able to at least keep the Bulls out in the second half of the first period, the Saints were stronger after the break – they weren’t going to be a pushover in this half, and for 15 minutes the visitors piled on the pressure, their big forwards causing the Bulls a few more problems than they may have expected after the dramatic start to the game.

Ultimately though, there was no way through – and it was the Bulls who chalked up another try after Max Dominy had converted an easy penalty in front of the sticks.

Russell Warrington was moved to full back while Jack Blackley received treatment for a blood injury and in his new position Warrington caught an excellent pass to go under the posts for 31-0.

That was when, for the first time in the game, St Ives lost their concentration. It was Tom Warboys who broke through their line to get the visitors’ consolation score.

That try seriously disappointed St Ives head coach Alan Hine, who said: “They turned off, lost their concentration: it was a sloppy try to concede. It’s a shame because after our start you would have thought we were never going to let them through. They had nothing and we went and gifted them something.”

But St Ives had saved their best try for last: Robinson scored in the corner after some great work from the Bulls pack for the bonus point.