Northampton proved to be an unhappy hunting ground for two local teams last Saturday.

St Ives and St Neots both suffered Midlands Division Three East (South) defeats in that town.

St Ives paid the price for a sloppy start as they were beaten 25-17 at Northampton Casuals.

They fell behind following the first line-out of the game and were 12 points adrift after only seven minutes, but the Bulls delivered a rousing response to transform the game.

Ross Thompson’s first try of the season – followed by a superb Jim Robinson conversion from out wide – got them back into contention.

They were soon ahead when Robinson again did the honours after Luke Myers had broken free and burst over the line.

A Robinson penalty extended their advantage to five points in the second half although Casuals quickly replied with a penalty of their own.

The hosts then claimed the decisive try to dash St Ives’ hopes of a vital away victory before a penalty denied them the consolation of a bonus point.

Skipper Josh Dear admitted: “As soon as we got ourselves together, we showed how we could and should have won the game.

“All we can do now is make sure we take our frustrations out on Old Newtonians this Saturday.”

St Ives did welcome influential player Paul Ashbridge back following surgery to reconstruct his knee. They also handed a debut to Tom Evans.

The Bulls entertain the bottom-of-the-table Leicester side in a basement battle at Somersham Road, 2.15pm.

Tries from captain Grant Hobbs and Cameron Howson were not enough to prevent St Neots falling to a 22-14 loss at Northampton BBOB last Saturday.

They’re also back on home turf this weekend when they host Northampton Casuals at The Common, 2.15pm.