WESTCLIFF suffered their first defeat of the season, losing 24-5 against Wimbledon in a top of the table clash at the Gables.

Westcliff went into the clash having won their first five fixtures of the London & SE Premier Division campaign.

But director of rugby Rick Compton felt Wimbledon were worthy winners.

“It was of course a disappointment to lose and while it’s fair to say a few things didn’t go our way I think we would acknowledge that Wimbledon deserved to win and showed why they are most people’s favourites for promotion,” said Compton.

“Big, powerful and experienced with quality in all areas, they will take some stopping.

“Nevertheless, were it not for the early disruption of the inevitably long-term injury to tight head prop Ewan Binneman and a few costly errors, things might have been different.”

However, Compton was keen to remain upbeat following his side’s fine start.

“We will take positives from the game and look forward to our next game away at Guildford in a fortnight,” said Compton.

“The rest week between then and now will be a very welcome opportunity to rest and recover after a gruelling opening six weeks of the season.

“But having licked our wounds we will come out fighting again, looking to maintain and improve upon our excellent start to the season.”

Despite Saturday’s final scoreline, Westcliff piled on the pressure early on but it was clear Wimbledon were unlikely to suffer a second defeat in succession.

However, Westcliff held their own for the first 20 minutes in the testing conditions before Binneman went off with a broken arm.

The enormous Wimbledon pack capitalised on Westcliff’s discomfort and bulldozed over for two tries and a penalty try.

However, Westcliff continued to fight and deservedly denied Wimbledon the try scoring bonus point before they scored late on themselves with Charlie Brown touching down after a forward surge.

But the defeat saw Westcliff slip down to second in the standings, two points below Wimbledon.

Westcliff: Bannister, S Brown, Stol, R Smith, Merrick, Ansell, Spivey, C Brown, B Morrant, Binneman, Dartnell, Edwards, Vandermolen, Hatton, J Smith

Replacements: Weston, Marsh & H Morrant