Streatham were leading 20-17 early in the second half and were threatening another Cup shock as the visiting bankers from the Kent 1 league struggled against the wind. But too many missed tackles gifted HSBC some cheap tries and coach Bob Dean will not be happy to see so many points leaked.

Early on Streatham continued their recent good form to move into a 10-0 lead. A penalty from Charlie Greenhill was followed by a comedic try for winger Jon Bradley who collected a sliced clearance to cruise in for an easy try, converted by Greenhill. HSBC responded with a try of their own as their back-row burst through the middle of the Streatham defence.

Streatham’s second try came from quick thinking by Steve Venter who tapped a penalty with the opposition expecting the kick, getting over the line without a hand being placed on him. The score wasn’t converted and HSBC then added to their account with a penalty and then a try as a kick ahead resulted in a converted try. The Streatham faithful, in good voice, saw their team go into half-time only two points down at 15-17.

Within five minutes of the re-start they had regained the lead after strong running from Mannie Pryce gave Greenhill the space to get in to the corner. With the try unconverted, HSBC levelled the score at 20-20 with another penalty.

With play going from end-to-end as play became increasingly fractured, it was a case of the next try being crucial. That score came from the bankers whose backs began to assert their superiority, strong running combined with a tired defence saw the floodgates open with three tries in the last ten minutes, plus a penalty giving the scoreline a flattering look, final score 20-44.

Coach Bob Dean was disappointed after the game, “I know it’s a cliché, but we really can concentrate on the league now. We have a big game down in Haslemere that will go a long way to seeing how far we have come since last season. We need to increase our level of performances from where we are now.”

Streatham-Croydon travel to Haslemere this Saturday 10th October for their second Surrey 3 game of the campaign, kick-off3pm.