Harpenden took a leaf out of England’s book as they saw a comfortable lead whittled away at Grasshoppers.

But unlike the game at Twickenham against Scotland, Harpenden were unable to come back themselves – losing 41-36.

The plus side was they picked up two bonus points but their hopes of securing the second spot in the league now rest of beating Hackney on Saturday, and preferably with another four-try bonus.

They had built up a 26-3 lead thanks to tries from Adam Wheatley, Ed Preston, Nick Childs and Tom Rolfe, three of which were converted by Tom Sweeney.

Two quick scores from the hosts before half-time had seemingly been cancelled by a try from skipper Oli Lacey, converted by Sweeney who then added a penalty.

But three more tries brought Grasshoppers level with a couple of minutes to go.

And the comeback was completed shortly after with Hoppers picking up the kick-off and working their way downfield before eventually crossing in the corner.