Harpenden share the love in 10-try success over Ruislip
Jimmy Speirs scored twice for Harpenden in their rout of Ruislip. Picture: KARYN HADDON - Credit: Archant
Playing a side that is bottom of the table and still searching for their first win sounds good on paper but you still have to beat them.
But Harpenden did just that with a superb 10-try 56-5 win over Ruislip at Redbourn Lane.
Six different players were able to cross the whitewash in a performance that went some way in banishing the memory of their last outing, a difficult trip to Southend.
And while delighted, skipper Oli Lacey still felt there was more in the tank for his team.
He said: "This was a good all-round performance and we're very happy to have got five points. We are a little disappointed though not to have kept a clean sheet."
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One other point which could be classed as negative was that only three of the 10 tries were converting but in the wind and rain that battered the players, that is perhaps forgivable.
Harps went ahead in the third minute when inside centre Bobby Tane touched under the posts and five minutes later hooker Pete Sims rumbled over for a second.
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With the game being played almost exclusively in the Ruislip half, Harps went further ahead on 23 minutes with scrum-half Fred Gulliford darting over for a try after a scrum.
And two minutes later he added a second after a line-out near the Ruislip line which secured the four-try bonus point.
Sims got his second try on 37 minutes when he popped up on the left wing to take a pass and with the last play of the first half tight-head prop Ben Campion touched down to give Harps a 30-0 lead at the break.
As rain swept in ever harder, Harps continued to turn the screw in the second half and were rewarded with further tries from Tane and replacement hooker Jack Murphy on 44 and 60 minutes respectively, the second of which was converted by Matt Deane.
To their great credit, Ruislip never threw in the towel and were eventually rewarded when winger Mojee Frederick touched down on 70 minutes.
However, it was only a temporary respite as Harpenden flanker Jimmy Speirs grabbed a brace of tries in the closing minutes. The first was converted by Deane, the second by replacement winger Jack Haddock.
Harps have a break from action on Saturday before travelling to second-bottom Woodford on November 9.
