League leaders Belsize Park racked up their ninth successive victory in Herts/Middlesex Division One with a valuable 34-20 home win over promotion rivals Old Actonians.

OAs sat in third spot prior to the weekend, just six points behind BP, but they have now dropped to fourth and trail the pacesetters by 11 points.

Corey Nash touched down twice, while Guy Parker, Nick Lewis and Richard Wilson also crossed the whitewash as the home side picked up a five-try bonus point.

Belsize are now gearing up for a crucial top-of-the-table clash as they visit second-placed Kilburn Cosmos on Saturday.

Old Actonians caught and drove the ball well from the line-out, but BP dealt with it calmly and excellent work from man of the match Seb Dunnett – standing in at No7 for the injured Sam Bennett – meant the hosts were very competitive at the breakdown.

The front row were superb again, with Adam French returning from injury and Iwan Davies making a big impression off the bench.

In the back line, Wilson was also back in action, while Parker, Lewis and Charlie Oakes were keen to attack from anywhere on the field.

Parker had previously made a successful boxing debut on the Thursday night as he looks to become Belsize’s answer to the multi-talented New Zealand international Sonny Bill Williams.

BP coach Andy Barrington said: “It was a much better day all-round, in terms of the atmosphere, warm-up, enjoyment and performance.

“We faced decent opposition who had a good structure and scored some good tries, but I am really happy that no-one panicked when conceding points or on our line.”