With the senior side not in action, Enfield Ignatians Under-18s took centre stage on Saturday as they hosted Cambridge in a friendly at Donkey Lane, coming up short in a 12-0 defeat.

Ignatians repeatedly frustrated Cambridge's ambitions with the quality of their tackling, but were made to pay on the scoreboard.

A couple of poor passes let in Cambridge for the first try, and the visitors further capitalised with a second score following a poor tap from the lineout.

Up 12-0 at the break, Cambridge found their way repeatedly blocked in the second period.

In a game in which both sides took it in turns to turnover the ball in the greasy conditions, Ignatians did very well to keep their line intact.

The Ignatians certainly had their moments though, and they had the platform from a five-metre scrum in the first-half but were denied.

A similar fate befell them in the second period when they allowed their maul to be sacked when in the red zone.

Winger Pete Dodsworth also went close.

Ignatians' coach Steve Renny commented: "A couple of silly mistakes cost us. We played as a team and the opposition will certainly know that they have been in a game. It's training next and then we will turn our attentions to the league game against Fullerians B (December 14).

"The great thing is that we never allowed our heads to drop in the Cambridge game."

Whilst these are still early days, with Ignatians and Fullerians 'B' having won their opening league games, the clash between the two teams on December 14 could have a bearing on the destiny of the title in Herts-Middlesex Division Four.