Datchworth 23 Haringey Rhinos 20

A LAST-gasp penalty consigned Rhinos to their third straight defeat in London 3 North-West to slide them into mid-table on Saturday.

Datchworth opened the scoring with a drop goal early on, but the Rhinos hit back with some hard running from the forwards.

Playmakers Jade Murphy and Tom Love spun the ball wide where some good hands and running from the backline created the opportunity for player coach Rubert Jonker (pictured right) to touch down under the posts, with Murphy adding the conversion.

Datchworth then gained the territorial advantage and after some gutsy defending the No8 picked from the base of the maul and powered over to score the visitors’ first try.

Datchworth’s second came after a knock-on by the visitors was missed by the referee, and the ball was picked up from an offside position but the try was allowed to stand and Rhinos trailed 13-7 at the break.

The second half began with the Rhinos conceding a try by the opposition No8, before Haringey exerted a sustained period of pressure leading to a penalty on the 5-metre line in front of the Datchworth posts.

Jonker took the ball from a quick tap and go and powered over for his second.

Datchworth sat back, but Haringey were handed a lucky break when Murphy kicked a crucial penalty to level the scores. But lack of discipline cost the Rhinos, as a needless penalty was conceded in front of their goal, and the Datchworth kicker made the most of an easy chance.