Enfield Ignatians’ search for a first win of the season continued on Saturday as they suffered a 27-19 defeat against London Two North West rivals HAC.

A slow start meant Ignatians were facing a 15-0 deficit inside the opening quarter of the match and were never truly able to recover.

Their failure to hit top gear early on frustrated coach, Ali Cook, who bemoaned the lead his side coughed up in the opening exchanges.

He said: “This was again a timely reminder of the need to be on top of our game from the start.

“For we again allowed the opposition to get comfortable and build a lead, although we fought back well after the break.”

Winger Cairo Sango finished off a well-worked move to bring Enfield back into the game, before a late try left his side trailing 20-7 at the half-time break.

With Cook’s half-time team talk still ringing in their ears, Ignatians came out for the second half with their tails up.

They were rewarded for their endeavour early on as Jordan Wilson made an excellent blindside break to set up Luke Stack.

He was involved again shortly after as he led a multi-phase move to set up man of the match Sango for his second of the game.

Tim Yawarski’s added the extras to move Enfield to within one point of HAC.

Ignatians were now within striking distance of their first win of the season, but ultimately failed to contain HAC as they began to play a more attacking brand of rugby.

The approach saw them run the ball at every opportunity and they were rewarded as they broke from one end of the pitch to the other.

The converted score took HAC eight points clear and left them in a commanding position which they preserved until the full-time whistle.

Ignatians did have a chance to take a losing bonus point from the game, but declined a penalty late on.

They will look to end their winless run when they take on London Nigerians on Saturday.

Elsewhere, Ignatians Seconds were awarded a default 25-0 win over Finchley Seconds who conceded the Herts-Middlesex Merit Table Two fixture.

It was an identical story for the club’s Thirds after they were awarded a walkover against Letchworth Thirds in the Herts-Middlesex Merit Table Four.