Sutton & Epsom returned to the top of London Division One South with a 34-17 victory over a dogged Gosport side whose performance belied their own lowly league position.
Sutton swapped places with Guildford at the head of the table despite the latter’s victory at Chobham and sets up another intriguing first versus second encounter next Saturday when Sutton travel to Guildford.
The gloss on the hosts' win by five tries to two was tarnished by a serious shoulder injury to captain James Caddy in the latter stages of the match, which will certainly rule him out for much of the season, adding another casualty to the ever extending injury list.
After their heroics at Chobham the week before last, perhaps a more subdued performance was to be expected and Sutton produced a display two distinct halves.
With the benefit of the wind in the first half, Sutton were soon down to business.
Matt Whitaker, below, scored his 10th try of the season from a simple tap and go within the first five minutes, which Sam Hurley converted, but it did not take Gosport long to make their mark courtesy of a penalty and a converted try from lock Mark Pollard.
Hurley added another penalty before a trio of tries from Sutton, in a 10-minute, spell secured the bonus point before half time.
Firstly, Steve Munford crossed the try line at the back of a driving maul and then Ian White, on his first full appearance since his return from Dorking, had a simple task after Sutton had created a three man overlap on the left wing.
Pete Mathews opened his account for the season after a run of 25 metres with a number of Gosport defenders unable to halt his advance.
With Hurley adding a brace of conversions Sutton held a comfortable 19-point lead at the interval, 29-10 with five league points seemingly locked away in the bank.
In conditions that would have suited Sutton’s expansive game a significant accumulation of points might have been expected in the second half.
However with a slippery ball, Sutton opted for a more narrow approach which Gosport’s line defence were able to withstand.
Despite significant territorial and possession advantage Sutton were only able to add another converted try from Whitaker following a driving maul at a line out.
Gosport had their best spell of pressure early in the half and came away with a converted try from scrum half Duggan, who supported by his back row sought to expose any weaknesses in the Sutton defence throughout the game.
Sutton’s pack had an excellent afternoon dominating the set scrum against the bulkier Gosport forwards including at least half a dozen of strikes against the head.
White had a strong game in the loose and James Bennett’s lineout throwing was on the mark all afternoon but sterner examinations lay ahead.
Next week’s match against Guildford at Broadwater near Godalming kicks off at 2.30, and Sutton will be looking to replicate their win there on the final day of last season.
Team: Jacob Atkins, Sam Hurley, Aaron Phillip, Pete Matthews, Luke Mason, Frankie Murray, Steve Munford, Tariq Al Khaldi, James Bennett, Craig Bellringer, Steve Burton, James Caddy, Ian White, Joe Ridgley, Matt Whitaker.
Replacements: Raynn Bruce, George London, Neil Mauger
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