It proved to be a difficult weekend for Eton Manor, who were beaten for the second time in a row after losing 37-7 to high-flying North Walsham.

The Wanstead side relinquished their unbeaten start to the campaign against Colchester last week and they dropped down to fifth place in the London One North Division with defeat at North Walsham last Saturday.

It proved to be a disappointing display from Manor and they were on the back-foot after two minutes as a high kick was inadvertently diverted on to Jake Duffield by a defender, allowing the Walsham full back to race over.

Fortunately for Manor, the resultant conversion was missed but that proved to be just a temporary reprieve for the away side, who fell further behind when Matt Hodgson scored a penalty.

But after a slow start, Jamie Connors’ side rallied and they closed the gap on their hosts when they scored what proved to be their only try of the game, as Elliot Brown outpaced Walsham’s back line to run over. Jack Emerson added two further points thanks to a successful conversion to leave Manor just one point behind their opponents after ten minutes.

However, just as Manor looked set to go in one point behind at the break, all their hard work was undone when they allowed North Walsham to convert two tries in quick succession.

After the Wanstead side’s clearing kick was charged down, Lacklan Brown-Bates drove over following the resultant scrum and the Walsham man recorded his second try of the day seconds before the break, running into the corner after Manor were penalised for holding.

Hodgson scored the two resultant conversions to give North Walsham a 22-7 lead and Manor were left with a mountain to climb after they were forced to start the second half a man down after George Cosma was yellow carded.

Matters went from bad to worse as Rhys Davis-Horne was sent to the sin-bin shortly after the re-start and North Walsham made full use of their numerical advantage, with Hodgson extending their advantage by another five points with an unconverted try.

With time running out to mount a comeback, Jamie Connors’ side started to make uncharacteristic errors and Cosma was the next player to be sent to the sin bin when he crashed into a Walsham player after losing his footing.

In the end, Manor were further punished late on when both James Knight as well as Dane Canning forced their way over the line to hand second place North Walsham a commanding 37-7 victory.

Elsewhere, Epping Upper Clapton remain at the top of the London 3 Essex League despite losing their 100% start to the season against Chelmsford.

Everything seemed to be running smoothly for the league leaders when they took a commanding 14-0 lead early on.

Epping were forced to name a new midfield partnership of Reece Reid and Ollie Forrest due to injury and the duo combined early on to allow Dale Gardener to race over.

He was swiftly followed by Dave Allen, while Dan Jones scored the resultant conversions to put Epping well in control.

But they almost undid all of their hard work as Chelmsford closed the gap to one point at the break after they scored two unconverted ties as well as a penalty to leave the tie finely poised.

However, Clapton seemed to resume control of the game following the restart with Dan Jones pouncing on a loose ball to charge over the line.

Chelmsford responded almost immediately, but it seemed like Epping were set to record their seventh straight victory when they opened up an eight point advantage with 15 minutes remaining, as Mitch Sinfield’s try was added to by Jones’ successful conversion.

But victory would be snatched away from Marcus Tobin’s side by Chelmsford with five minutes remaining, as they conceded two tries in quick succession from line-outs, one of which was converted, meaning their unbeaten start to the campaign was brought to an end.