RUGBY: St Ives and St Neots made to suffer on the road

It was a Saturday to forget for the two local teams at Midlands Division Three East (South) level last season.

St Ives and St Neots conceded 119 points between them when tumbling to heavy defeats on the road.

A 59-6 drubbing at Northamptonshire side Long Buckby provided a first reverse of the season for St Ives. It was a case of coming back down to earth with a bump following a three-match unbeaten run to start the campaign.

Their points were provided by the boot of Paul Ashbridge, who guided over two penalties, but there was little else to cheer on an afternoon when the loss of Alex Henly and Mickey Drake to injuries added salt to the wounds.

And there was another blow after the match when it came to light that Tommy Newman had played despite suffering a broken knuckle, which will sideline him for several weeks.

St Neots, who received a reprieve from relegation to remain at this level, have now slipped to second-bottom in the standings.

A 60-17 drubbing at Leicester Forest was a third defeat in four games although it did feature a pair of tries from young hooker Jack Hayward following line outs.

Guy Podlubny provided the other score when finishing a length-of-the-field move.

The performance of 17-year-old scrum half Rory Dingemans in his first XV debut was another positive for St Neots.