Hendon are in seventh heaven with victory in Chess match

Toby Ikeweke, Elliott Brown and JP Cremin all touched down twice as Hendon ran in seven tries to triumph 41-26 away against basement boys Chess Valley in Herts/Middlesex Division Two.

Visiting Hendon went behind to a converted try after just three minutes, but they then scored four scores without reply to establish a commanding position.

Ikeweke ran in from the 22 to dot down out wide, and Mike Evans-Jones converted to level the scores in the 10th minute.

It took 20 minutes for the away team to take the lead, with Adam Johnson and Brian O’Regan both being stopped short – but after half an hour’s play Ikeweke received the ball 10 metres out to put them 12-7 up.

Hendon showed off the speed in their back line again as man of the match Brown raced from the halfway line, breaking several tackles to score in the corner to establish a 17-7 lead at the break.

And, after the interval, Brown collected a kick into the Hendon half and advanced all the way to the Valley five-metre line before freeing Cremin, who made it 22-7.

The home side hit back with a try of their own from a line-out, but the visitors took a quick penalty and fed the ball down the line to Brown, who scored again, while Evans-Jones added the extras.

When Cremin touched down for a second time, Hendon were 36-14 ahead, but they then took their foot off the gas and allowed their hosts to run in two tries, gifting them a bonus point and narrowing the gap to 10 points at 36-26.

However, Hendon had the final word as second row Dave Connell won a line-out and crashed over the line.