Eton Manor are a point off the top of the table with a game in hand after beating struggling Tabard 48-5 in London One North.

With Manor’s home ground waterlogged, the match was played at Bancroft RFC and the hosts struggled to find their usual rhythm in a disjointed first-half display.

Callum McKie registered the first points of the game with a well-struck penalty after 15 minutes.

Not long after, Manor extended their lead when Tryson Goodchild showed a burst of pace on the wing to score the first try of the game and a successful conversion by McKie made it 10-0, which is how it stayed until half-time.

Any hopes Tabard had of a comeback were all but extinguished early in the second half when Reece Reed fed his brother Kevin to cross the line, making it 15-0.

The try-scorer blotted his copybook soon after when he was yellow-carded for repeated infringement but still Manor dominated the game.

Reece Reed remained at the heart of the action however and it was he who scored Manor’s third try after gathering his own kick through. McKie added the extras to make it 22-0.

Just after the hour-mark, Kevin Reed off-loaded well to Karl Butler to go over for a converted try before Nick Stewart intercepted and went over the whitewash again to give Manor a 36-0 lead.

There was no let-up for the visitors as Manor added two more tries late on through Garth Tucker and although Tabard crossed the line once themselves too, it was nothing more than a consolation.

On Saturday, Manor travel to North Walsham who are unbeaten at home this season and boast the best defensive record in the league.

Woodford’s survival fight received a huge boost on Saturday after a superb 29-27 win at local rivals Chingford.

The surprise win means Woodford are now fourth from bottom of the table but still 33 points behind their beaten opponents, who are fifth.

Chingford are away to Tabard on Saturday while Woodford host Romford & Gidea Park.