Harpenden crashed to defeat in the dying seconds away at Enfield Ignatians.

Ignatians’ full-back Jack Wilson was the hero for the home side, intercepting a pass to touch down under the posts.

The 28-21 defeat brought a nightmare end to a second-half which saw Harpenden surrender a seemingly comfortable 11 point lead in less than 20 minutes.

The losing bonus point which keeps them in sixth place in London North West Two will be scant, if any, consolation.

At half-time it had looked as though they were well set for victory.

Despite going behind to a Jordan Wilson penalty on 17 minutes they rattled up three tries in quick succession.

The first saw outside centre Tom Sweeney run back a clearance to touch down under the posts.

The second came after a succession of attacks which culminated in full back Fred Gulliford darting over in the left hand corner.

And after the hosts had pulled back a try through their inside centre and skipper Keir Bonner, Sweeney went over for his second, which, like the first two, he then went on to convert.

Although Harps knew they had to contend with a pronounced slope and a strong wind in the second half, it seemed to their supporters that if they continued in similar vein, it would only be a matter of time before they rattled up a fourth try.

However, Enfield, through a combination of mistakes by the visitors and exploiting the conditions to the full, slowly began to chip away at the lead.

A try by prop Matt Pollard and two penalty kicks by Justin Wilson levelled the scores with eight minutes to go.

With the referee looking at his watch Harps then contrived to throw away the game.

In trying to launch a counter attack from inside their 22 they succeeded only in giving Wilson the chance to swoop on a pass and dart in for a score which few if any present could have predicted.

Harpenden’s next game is on December 5 when they entertain Staines.