Enfield Ignatians’ indifferent start to the season continued in the floodlit derby against Saracens Amateurs, with the visitors coming off second best after suffering a 48-10 reverse at the Bramley Road Sports Ground, writes Jonathan Landi.

Caught cold in the early exchanges, the visitors got off to the worst of all possible starts after cheaply conceding a try – the first of eight conceded during the evening - after just two minutes.

However, Ignatians engineered an almost immediate and strong response and they did well to force a 5m attacking scrum, but the siege of the Sarries’ line was to end in frustration as a dropped ball put paid to a clear overlap opportunity.

It was a scenario that was to repeat itself in the second-half and was to prove costly in the overall context as, given better finishing, Ignatians could have rescued a point from the game had they added to a brace of tries in the second period.

Ignatians, not helped by some weak tackling were also far too penalty prone and this allied to their poor ball retention (particularly at the breakdown), and consequently any notion of any meaningful attacking platform fell by the wayside as they all too often found themselves on the backfoot.

Consequently, Ignatians suffered on the scoreboard as the Sarries’ wagons circled mercilessly, and an injection of tempo and here and there enabled the home side to fill their boots by adding a further four tries to their haul to lead 33-0 at the break.

Although second best, Ignatians’ backrowers, Sam Rushmer and Euan Renny, toiled manfully to put their side on the front foot, but with the support, at times, slow to arrive, vital attacking momentum was lost as the defence regrouped.

The second-half was much better although for a while things continued to get worse before they got better, as Sarries extended their lead by again stretching the visitors’ defensive line to breaking point on each flank to lead 43-0.

The loss of prop Ken Carroll to injury was another blow, as the game went to uncontested scrums, but the visitors via the best efforts of the likes of Sam Rushmer, Euan Renny, Liam Horn and William Bruce, certainly fronted up.

As they continued to stoke the fires of a faltering attack and two consolation tries, either side of Sarries’ eighth and final try, was no less than the team deserved for their resilience in sticking at it and staying the course.

Admittedly, the first try, signed off by impact player, Seyi Adeosun, playing out of position at centre, was of the opportunistic variety as he feasted on a very loose Sarries’ ball en route to winning the foot-race for the line.

Ignatians continued to press and, finding themselves deep in the Sarries 22, they did what they should have done earlier in the game, by carving a clear overlap with winger, Oliver Hoxha, rounding off the final defender for a well-taken score.

Ignatians’ next league game sees them face Actonians at Donkey Lane on October 31.

The squad: Alfie Fordham*, Rondel Bernard*, Harry Newbery*, King Shiloh-Small*, Ben Roper*, Luke Roper*, Ken Carroll*, Dale Gardener, William Bruce*, Liam Horn*, Henry Sibley (VC)*, Declan Linnane*, Euan Renny* (Cpt), Sam Rushmer, Lyric Grant-Oum, Dalton Nsimbe , Oliver Hoxha, Seyi Adeosun, William Halstead. (19).