Captain James Boyde gave UCS Old Boys the lead against Twickenham and went on to complete a treble of tries as the basement boys put up a brave fight in a 36-17 home defeat against the league leaders in London Division Two North-West.

Twickenham took the ascendancy from the kick-off and were quickly applying pressure on the UCS try-line but, after some dogged defence, a double movement resulted in a penalty and a chance for the hosts to relieve the pressure.

For the next 15 minutes UCS came more and more into the game, taking advantage of the wind in their favour and getting their big runners into the game.

Some good work at the breakdown meant the Old Boys retained possession, and they were able to make it count when Boyde crashed over from short range.

For the remainder of the half the UCS defence stayed organised and, although Twickenham spread the ball out wide, they were unable to break through.

Meanwhile, when the home side had the ball they looked dangerous, with big men Chris Henk and 21.5- stone Paul Dillon getting over the gain line with ease.

However, a string of penalties before half-time forced UCS back onto their line, and Twickenham took advantage this time, scoring a converted try from a rolling maul to take a 7-5 lead into the interval.

The deficit was a small one - particularly given the 63-point gap between the two sides in the league table – but with the wind now firmly against UCS, they were instantly on the defensive as the second half got underway.

Twickenham spread the ball from side to side, testing the Old Boys’ defensive organisation and fitness to the limit - and eventually the pressure told.

Henry Walton was forced to kill the ball to prevent a certain try, consequently being sent to the sin-bin - and the visitors scored from the resulting penalty before adding three more tries during the following 15 minutes.

UCS kept battling and still looked threatening in possession, with James May embarking on some strong runs, Henry Walton looking dangerous on the attack in midfield and Damir Jovanovic making hard yards - and the hosts went on to score twice through Boyde, with one try coming from even further than five metres out.

However, Twickenham had the final word, getting the last try after some good running out wide in broken play.

UCS Old Boys: Henk, Klimov, Adcock, May, Boyde, Noonan (Dillon), Zabci, Walton, O’Dwyer, E Lowe, Jovanovic, Jacobs, Oulton, Loughnan, Hastings.