Enfield Ignatians suffered a disappointing 21-7 defeat away to Dunstablians in their second and final pre-season friendly.
Coach Ali Cook is expecting a vast improvement in the league opener against Hampstead on Saturday.
A lethargic Ignatians side had their backs to the wall for most of the first half.
Cook said: “We were pinned in our own half for the best part of 33 minutes and the penalty count (nine) was far too high.”
Rampant Dunstablians took the game to the visitors and the pressure eventually paid off after the home pack took play to within metres of the blue and golds’ line before the scrum-half sniped over after a vital tackle was missed.
Ignatians could have been further behind as only excellent defence from Robert Rigby, Jordan Wilson and Wes Warren thwarted two gilt-edged scoring opportunities.
The team adopted a more pragmatic approach in the second half but Dunstablians’ scrum-half still scored a try.
Ignatians were awarded a penalty try, which was converted by Jordan Wilson, but the side could not avoid defeat.
Cook added: “It was a poor performance and we really do need to pick our game up. We need to be more competitive at the breakdown and more organised in attack.”
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