WESTCLIFF were unable to beat the London & SE Division leaders for the second weekend running as they suffered a 29-17 defeat at Guernsey.

Westcliff had knocked Barnes off the top of the table in their previous outing.

But, despite not being able to secure more of the same on Saturday, Westcliff director of rugby Rick Compton was happy with his side’s display.

“Although we were disappointed to take nothing from the game we were not unhappy with our performance,” said Compton.

“A crucial sin binning and a couple of unfortunate moments were pivotal in deciding the outcome.

“Josh Stol picked up a knee injury that will need to be assessed but we are already looking forward to hosting second placed Tring.”

Other than a pivotal 10 men period which effectively decided the game, Westcliff enjoyed the majority of the possession.

The first 20 minutes saw the hosts unable to get out of their own half, as Westcliff enjoyed phase after phase of attacking rugby, under which most teams would have crumbled.

However, Guernsey’s defence was to prove secure against this unrelenting pressure, and Westcliff were rewarded only with a Jack Jones penalty after Jordan Fenton had been held up agonisingly close to the home try-line.

It was perhaps inevitable that the home side would sooner or later assert themselves and they finally broke free on the half-hour mark, taking the lead with a well-worked try.

Shortly afterwards, Westcliff were hit by a double-blow, losing exciting full-back Sam Brown for 10 minutes for a deliberate knock-on and, to compound the visitors’ misery, the referee awarded a penalty try to put the hosts 12-3 clear.

With Westcliff on the back foot, a class Guernsey back move resulted in a third try just before the break.

However, fifth-placed Westcliff soon replied with James Scogings touching down and Jones adding the conversion to bring the visitors to within 10 points.

A losing bonus would have been the least that Westcliff deserved, but Guernsey upped the tempo again, scoring two further tries to put the match out of Westcliff’s reach despite a late try from Rory Lane.

Westcliff: Brown, Fenton, Stol, Jones, Reynolds, Whiting, Spivey, Brown, Hopkins, Binneman, Scogings, Edwards, Marsh, Maloney, Dellas Replacements: Branch, MacIntyre & Lane