Belsize Park edged past Tabard to maintain their unbeaten record in London Division Two North West but they made hard work of it with an “ugly win”.

The Regent’s Park outfit had been in sparkling form in their previous outing, running in five tries in their impressive 41-7 home win over Hammersmith & Fulham.

However, they were only able cross the whitewash twice on Saturday, against a side sitting in the bottom half of the table, and their failure to secure the bonus point in their 21-18 triumph meant they dropped from first to third, being overtaken by both Old Haberdashers and local rivals Hampstead.

Will Ville popped a pass to centre Ryan Forrester, who cut a line from the 22 and scored under the posts, while Jeremy Burton added the conversion – and Will Blevins then fed Ville, who popped up on the wing and touched down in the corner.

But Tabard kicked six penalties and Burton had to convert three himself to ensure Belsize finished on top and secured their sixth successive victory.

“It was an ugly win against resilient opposition,” said director of rugby Zach Webb. “The penalty count drove the territory and territory drove the result.

“It was a contrast from the previous week but that is what these long seasons are about. We’re happy to get the result.”