A penalty try was all that separated Enfield Ignatians and Harrow in their London 3 North West encounter on Saturday.

Storm Dennis played a huge part in keeping the scores down, so much so that there was no score by the break.

Had it not been for a Harrow player coming in at the side of the Ignatians attacker late on, the struggling visitors may have seen the game out for a surprising 0-0 draw, but the illegal action left the referee with no choice but to award the penalty try, thus handing Ignatians a 7-0 success.

Wind and rain were present throughout the entire game and halted any sort of attacking momentum, particularly in the first half for Ignatians as they played into the elements.

Mistakes were common and neither side could gain any sort of continuity in their play, putting each of the defences largely on top.

Ignatians kept their shape throughout the opening half while Harrow’s indiscipline going forward saw them undo a lot of their good approach work.

The home side will have been fairly confident going into the second half having had the best of an opening period defined more by the weather than the quality of play.

Both sides had chances to take the lead but spurned their efforts as kicks on goal went astray, but it was Ignatians who were to have the only score in the game as they broke the deadlock going into the final quarter.

Good carries forward and the strength of Ignatians’ forward got them to within inches of the line, but a Harrow forward tried to halt the momentum by coming in from the side, leaving the referee with no choice but to award the penalty try.

The Blue and Golds had further chances to increase their score, but the decisive touches evaded them in the closing minutes, meaning they had to settle for the low score of 7-0.

Speaking after the game, head coach Shane Manning said: “On a dry day, and it’s no disrespect to Harrow, we would probably have scored four tires and wrapped up all five points.

“However, the conditions were horrible. It became virtually impossible to strong more than two to three phases together, and the ball was like a bar of soap.

“In such conditions, conventional tactics became impossible. Harrow proved themselves to be a big, physical team, and the conditions were a great leveller.”

The win keeps Ignatians in second place in the division and temporarily closes the gap on leaders Old Streetonians to four points, although they do have a game in hand.

Next up for the Blue and Golds is a huge game away at third-placed Stevenage Town this Saturday.