A POOR first half performance saw a ‘jaded’ Westcliff slump to a 40-14 defeat at Gravesend in National Three London & SE.

Westcliff had been hoping to see off the Kent club in a bid to improve their survival chances.

But they found themselves 23-0 down at the break.

And Westcliff’s first team manager Rick Compton was left dumbfounded by the display.

“It’s hard to put a finger on just where this performance came from but we looked jaded,” said Compton.

“We have a small squad and like everyone else it gets stretched over the season.

“We have given a lot in recent weeks and invested a huge amount of energy and effort for no return and there is no doubt we were deflated after the late defeat to Chichester last week.

“Gravesend, on the other hand, won last week and perhaps were in a different place, certainly they were as excellent as we were poor.

“The Christmas break is welcome so the lads can recharge their batteries and we can regroup to take on the second half of the season.

“There is a long way to go and 12 more opportunities for us to get the points we need to remain a national league team.”

But for that to happen, Westcliff will need to improve on Saturday’s subdued display.

Under pressure from the outset they defended their line ferociously for the opening quarter of an hour but then conceded two tries in as many minutes.

Firstly, the home winger got behind the line of defence and was able to offload to the supporting back row who scored under the posts.

And, from the restart, the same player ended up pouncing on a loose ball and exploited time and space to score again.

Having been on the back foot for almost the entire first 16 minutes, Westcliff now found themselves 12-0 down and the rest of the half offered little comfort as things went from bad to worse.

Another try arrived on 37 minutes from number eight Geoff Marshall and, in first half injury time, the home winger got the bounce of the ball from a kick ahead to also touch down.

The second half was a more even affair and Westcliff posted tries through Sam Reynolds and Ewan Binneman to match two further scores from the hosts. But Westcliff will head into the new year 12th in the table, five points from safety.

Westcliff: Argentieri, Merrick, Jones, Mamea, Sigwart, Bannister, Parmenter, Dellas, Hopkins, Binneman, Dartnell, Anderson-Brown, Webster, Scoggins, Sam Reynolds. Replacements: Skidmore, Smith & Sebastian Reynolds.