H&P Cup 1st Round St Ives 41 St Neots 19 SEVEN tries from St Ives earned them the local bragging rights as they went into the next round of the Hunts and Peterborough cup. The hosts youthful backline again produced the goods, with the Paxton brothers doi

H&P Cup 1st Round

St Ives 41 St Neots 19

SEVEN tries from St Ives earned them the local bragging rights as they went into the next round of the Hunts and Peterborough cup.

The hosts' youthful backline again produced the goods, with the Paxton brothers doing most of the damage - John claiming a hat-trick and brother Charles a pair. Steve Burke and Dave Williams also crossed the line while Jack Blackley converted three times to help secure the win.

St Neots fielded a weakened side due to league commitments but the side that took the field were no pushovers and the hosts' scrum struggled early on under the pressure of the St Neots front five.

St Ives leaked three tries over the course of the game, one through an interception in the first half and two in the second half through good power play from the St Neots pack.

Home captain Ross Thompson said: "We are happy with the performance. This win should hopefully put last weekend's defeat behind us.

"We have a vital home game against Oundle next weekend and we need to be firing on all cylinders for that. If we can keep providing the backs with clean ball, I can't see the Oundle defence being up to the challenge."

n St Neots first XV romped to a 95-0 victory over March Braza at the weekend. For some time it seemed the club record win of 109-0 - set two weeks ago against Stamford College - might be under threat but Saints were happy enough with their haul.