Hampstead’s second-half fightback was in vain as they suffered a second successive defeat in London North-West Division Two, going down 32-27 away at Harpenden and dropping to eighth place in the table.
The visitors were without star forward Rob Goode and back Will Pettit, but they started well with Dan Dimoline scoring the opening try before adding the conversion.
However, Harpenden turned the game around, taking a 22-7 lead into half-time – and they then extended their advantage to 27-7 after another try in the second period.
Max Moncrieff scored a converted try with 20 minutes left and Dimoline crossed the whitewash again to narrow the gap to eight points, but Harpenden replied at the other end to go 32-19 ahead.
Andy McEwan got a fourth try for Hampstead, securing a bonus point, and a penalty then cut the deficit to five points, but the away team could not get a final score.
This Saturday the first XV host Old Merchant Taylors’ and, in the evening, Hampstead RFC will be on their traditional carol crawl around the pubs in Hampstead and raising funds along the way for Musclehelp, a charity aiding children with muscular dystrophy.
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