London 2 North West: Hampstead 32 Enfield 18

Ham & High: Hampstead in action against Enfield (Pic: Emily Williams)Hampstead in action against Enfield (Pic: Emily Williams) (Image: Archant)

Hampstead saw off a determined Enfield Ignatians with a five-try haul from a sparkling back line, making it two wins from two as the north London side chases fourth spot in London Two North West.

Outstanding defence by the home side restricted the visitors to just two tries, including a hotly disputed score at the death.

Hampstead were first on the scoreboard, with Dan Dimoline knocking over a penalty following a deliberate knock-on by Enfield as their line came under pressure.

But the scores were soon level when the home side were penalised.

Ham & High: Hampstead in action against Enfield (Pic: Emily Williams)Hampstead in action against Enfield (Pic: Emily Williams) (Image: Archant)

Craig Harper and Arthur Haynes, who switched roles to play at fly-half and scrum-half respectively, produced some sublime kicks from hand which were instrumental in the home side’s two first-half scores.

After Enfield kicked out on the full, Hampstead got good ball from the resulting scrum and a deft dink over the onrushing defence from Harper saw inside centre Pete Bicknell gather and score.

Then, from a scrum just outside the Hampstead 22, Haynes wrapped around to take the ball at speed from captain Max Moncrieff.

Rushing through a gap in the Enfield defence Haynes produced a well-judged kick ahead under pressure, with full-back Neil Watt winning the foot race with the defence to touch down.

Enfield notched up another penalty before the break and were first to score in the second half, taking advantage of a Hampstead knock-on under the high ball with a neat inside pass that allowed them to slice through the home defence.

But the visitors were then architects of their own misfortune as inside centre Will Cotterhill read the Enfield fly-half’s attacking pass to perfection, snatching the ball and racing the length of the pitch to score.

Minutes later Bicknell charged through a broken midfield, with his well-timed pass releasing wing Dave Brandon who fended off a defender to score in the corner.

With around 15 minutes to go, Alex Brooks sealed the victory when he latched onto a loose ball in midfield.

The 32-18 defeat leaves Enfield just two points above bottom club Letchworth.

Fifth-placed Hampstead are away at promotion-chasing Chiswick on Saturday.