Enfield Ignatians kicked off 2020 with a comfortable 22-0 win away at Kilburn Cosmos in London 3 North West.

The result keeps Ignatians firmly in second place after Stevenage lost to league leaders Old Streetonians.

Ben Mills, Lewis White, Jonathan Hamilton and Michael Hall were all on the scoresheet for the away side as they recorded their 10th win from 12 games this season.

It was always going to be an afternoon where substance would trump style as the weather had turned the pitch at Anson Road into more of a bog.

However, with a powerful pack, Ignatians were always going to be well equipped to deal with that and after numerous waves of attacks were broken down by Kilburn, the visitors eventually got through as hooker Mills was set up to go over in the corner.

Although the conversion was missed, Enfield soon topped up their tally with another try before the half-time interval. After Kilburn were penalised for offside, a powerful lineout drive splintered the home defence and White claimed the pushover score to continue his good form and put his side 10-0 up.

The visitors were forced into more defensive action at the beginning of the second half as Kilburn sought an immediate response, but the league’s tightest defence remained so to preserve the scoreline.

It was a good job they did, as shortly after some powerful play from Hamilton saw him force his way over the line for Ignatians’ third try which effectively sealed the win.

There was time, though, for a fourth and final score which also secured the bonus point as good play between Anzl Swartz and Jake Bates set up centre Hall.

Despite the comfortable nature of the win, head coach Shane Manning was only partially satisfied with the result.

After the game, he said: "We need to reflect on what went well for us and what didn't in this game. However, we achieved what we set out to do by gaining a bonus point win."

Captain Bates added: "We played well for about 20 minutes of that game and it was a good win away from home. However, we need to push on and aim for higher standards."

Ignatians return home this weekend for the first time in the new year as they host mid-table Old Merchant Taylors'.