Eton Manor suffered their second consecutive defeat, and just their second in London 1 North all season, as they were surprisingly beaten 21-15 by near-neighbours Chingford.

Billy Cosma and Harry Bone were the only try scorers for the hosts, while Cameron Dutch added a conversion to the former’s score and notched a penalty of his own.

Chingford had initially made a poor start to the season but were on the up following a big win over Old Priorians last week, and they made the better start here, running powerfully at the Manor defence and keeping possession well.

They then took the lead after just five minutes having worked their way to Manor’s line, and despite some stout defending, Chingford went over from close range and added the conversion to give them an early 7-0 lead.

From the restart Manor went straight on the attack and kept Chingford pinned inside their half, but despite winning a host of penalties, they were unable to make a breakthrough.

A darting run from Bone saw him race past a group of defenders before being brought down for a penalty that was kicked for a lineout, but Manor were penalised from the lineout and Chingford were able to relieve the pressure.

Despite Manor enjoyed the biggest share of possession and territory, Chingford extended their advantage when they worked their way into Manor’s 22 and, after an attacking lineout, they went over for an unconverted try.

Manor responded quickly and were soon back in the game as a couple of quick penalties resulted in a driving maul going over the Chingford line from 10 metres and Cosma was credited with the score with Dutch adding the conversion.

Just as quickly as Manor had got back into the game though, Chingford restored a more comfortable cushion when the hosts were penalised for offside at the ruck and the penalty was slotted in.

There was still time in a frantic first half for the home side to hit back again as Jake Campey was on the receiving end of a high tackle, allowing Dutch to kick home for three points and making it 15-10 at the break.

Manor made a dominant start to the second half but solid defending from Chingford continued to keep them at bay, making it even more frustrating when the away side were awarded a penalty which was scored with ease.

That seemed to revitalise Chingford and they looked out of sight when their forwards set up a clean ball for the flyhalf to score a well-taken drop goal, extending their lead to 21-10.

Although it proved to be an insurmountable gap, Manor did at least have the final say in the game when after a series of scrums, Campey went down the blindside and fed the ball to Bone on the wing, and he raced in at the corner for a five point score that sealed the game at 21-15 in Chingford’s favour.

Despite the loss, Manor remain third in the table, although both Southend Saxons and Old Haberdashers are now level with them on 27 points after respective wins against Amersham & Chiltern and Old Priorians.

Manor have a free week this coming weekend, meaning their next match is away at Old Haberdashers on Saturday, November 9.