A valiant performance was not enough to prevent Epping Upper Clapton from losing a 14th straight game in London 2 North East, going down 20-0 at home to Wanstead.

The first-half display was particularly impressive from Clapton, who were behind by just five at the break after battling well against the tough conditions.

Wanstead, in search of only their fifth win of the season, improved greatly after the interval though, and three further unanswered tries secured them a bonus point that takes them above Saffron Walden in the table.

Clapton were playing against the elements in the first half, but looked a completely different side to the one that were the only winless team in the division coming into the game.

They dominated possession, with Luke Neat leading the charge on more than one occasion, and they had a Bobby Grace try ruled out by the referee after he adjudged that there had been a double movement at the point of touch down.

Wanstead rode the pressure and despite being a man down due to a yellow card infringement, they managed to get down field and drive in to score with almost the last move of the half.

With the conversion missed, the deficit was only five going into the break, and with favourable conditions to come in the second half, there was clear encouragement for Clapton.

The visitors, though, upped their intensity and got two quick tries to pull away from the home side at 15-0.

That was not to say Clapton regressed in the second half, and they had more potential scores ruled out by the officials which could have closed the gap.

With the very last move of the game though, Wanstead piled over the line from a scrum to secure the bonus point and round off the game.

The result leaves Clapton 19 point adrift of second-bottom Holt, while high-flying Southwold are up next for the side this Saturday.

Clapton Ladies, meanwhile, continue to go from strength to strength as they recorded their fourth win in a row with a 17-5 win over Haverhill.

The established Eastern Counties Merit Table side showed their dominance in the first half and took a 5-0 lead with a try just before the break.

Clapton, though, got themselves back into the game in the second half as good pressure from Ella Hoy resulted in Bethan Jones going over to make it 5-5.

The improvement got greater as the half went on and Rachel Lund soon burst over for the second try.

Gemma Hammond’s late score was then converted by Rosie Wheelhouse-Taylor to make it a final score of 17-5.