Enfield Ignatians dropped to the bottom of London 2 North West with a heavy 61-7 defeat the hands of second-placed Harpenden.

The result leaves them one point behind Letchworth Garden City in the table, while Hackney are six points ahead in ninth.

Despite the sizable defeat, Ignatians battled well against the weather as well as their difficult opponents and they held their own in the scrums and were being well-served by the efforts of hard-charging number eight Michael Hall.

The home side were also putting in a lot of brave tackles but the relentless Harpenden pressure was proving too much for them and the visitors, now top scorers in the league with 502, were fully deserving of their 25-0 lead at the break.

Ignatians needed to exert more precision in the second half but, instead, they opted to run the ball from everywhere and were consequently punished for their lack of organisation.

Their scattergun approach, along with a tendency to concede possession too easily, saw the floodgates open and the away side eased past the 60-point barrier, showing just why they are the league’s highest scorers.

Enfield never gave up though and they did get some reward for their efforts right at the end as prop Dom Nott crashed over for a consolation score, and captain Jake Bates converted to seal a final score of 61-7.

After the game, Ignatians coach Shane Manning said: “Harpenden were different class to any other team we have played this season, and are obvious contenders for promotion, so well done to them.

“We now have a huge game away at Hammersmith & Fulham and, if we are to stay in this league, we need to win at least two more games, so this is massive for us.”

The match away at Hammersmith & Fulham will take place on Saturday, February 16