Coach Dai Fussell says Ashford need to reduce the amount of errors they make if they are to make an impact this season

Ashford Rugby Club opened their Kent 1 league campaign with a 21-12 defeat against Old Olavians, despite taking a second-minute lead with a score from Danny Bushell and dominating the opening 25 minutes.

But Ashford’s game started to crumble as they missed tackles and gave away penalties.

It was a disappointing beginning to the season for coach Dai Fussell. He admitted: "Every game is going to be a hard-fought battle where sometimes the more committed team wins, such as Old Olavians this week.

"We constantly put ourselves in winning positions, only to make numerous mistakes and poor decisions. We need to minimise these.

"If we are to compete with the top three or four teams in this league we have to be as fit as, or fitter, than the best teams because we have a smaller playing base. Players must continue to attend training as much as possible."