Enfield Ignatians’ poor run of form stretched to six consecutive losses as they went down 33-24 to bottom team Letchworth Garden City at Legends Lane.

The result has implications for the relegation battle as the two sides currently propping up the table are now level on points, with Ignatians only marginally in front in 10th by virtue of a superior points differential.

Ignatians head coach Shane Manning said: “It’s unbelievably frustrating, although the losing bonus point could prove crucial come the end of the season.

“We need to be picking up bonus points regardless of the result. We have Harpenden at home on February 9 so it doesn’t get any easier. We need to be firing again rather than misfiring.”

Ignatians had started brightly with Jake Bates’ charge down effort. Although Letchworth levelled soon after, Enfield restored the lead when Liam Dunne went over from a maul.

Letchworth began to gain a foothold in the game though, and claimed a further two tries via their backline to secure a narrow lead going into half-time.

Ignatians freshened up their team after the break by introducing Seyi Adeosun, Liam Horn and Jordan Wilson, but it did little to change their fortunes.

Letchworth went over for another try, this time after Ignatians were cruelly beaten by the bounce of the ball to leave them further adrift on the scoreboard.

Although much of the closing period was about damage limitation after struggling Letchworth had steamed into a surprising lead, Ignatians, to their credit, rallied in the final 10 minutes.

They collected a further two tries, which secured them a losing bonus point, as speedy winger Cairo Sango touched down after a sustained period of pressure and Gareth Rutt went over after another maul. Paul Duke scored the conversion for both tries.