Hampstead continued their poor start to the season as familiar frailties resulted in a 41-18 defeat away against a strong Hammersmith & Fulham side – their fourth successive loss in London North-West Division Two.

Missed tackles again led to several easy tries for the opposition and negated some strong forward play from Hampstead, who initially went 3-0 up through a Dan Dimoline penalty but then conceded the first try as the hosts broke through from a set piece move and scored under the posts.

Similar incidents led to a 29-11 score-line at half-time, with captain Max Rawlinson scoring Hampstead’s try and Dimoline adding another penalty.

The second half started catastrophically for the away team with two easy Hammersmith & Fulham tries.

After that, Hampstead showed some strength of character, particularly through No8 Andy McEwen and the ageless Ben Fehnert, who scored a converted try in the corner towards the end of the match – but by then the result was a foregone conclusion.

Rawlinson said: “Our combinations are starting to work and we’re starting to see who plays well together.

“I think it’s a case of getting one win under our belts, then the momentum will start to carry us.”