By Mark Bruce

Gravesend were left to rue a costly 20 minutes after a 47-29 defeat at Beckenham in Regional 2 South East.

The fact the away side came out of the encounter having claimed five tries and outscored their hosts 19-14 in the second half highlighted some of their problems this season as a relatively-makeshift backline were blown away early on.

Gravesend, so often the architects of their own downfall, were again so on at least two occasions - throwing passes that were not collected and failing to collect kicks which saw a couple of breakaway tries for their hosts and allowed them to get an unassailable 33-10 lead in the first half.

Only tries by Stan Dadson and Matt Hewitt gave the score some credibility.

The second half, however, was a different affair as Gravesend worked out the best way to nullify the speed of the Beckenham backs. In a fine display of forward domination, Gs mounted the pressure which saw Beckenham pick up five yellow cards and a further try for Dadson and a brace from Samraj Chahal clawed the visitors back into the game, earning a bonus point.

What was a miserly defence for the most part last term once again conceded far too many tries. On the plus side, this season Gravesend are scoring far more.

With results elsewhere going their way, Gs remain ninth in the league and with one more fixture to go before another break will be hoping to regroup ahead of what appears a friendly run of matches.

Next up, however, are fourth-placed Battersea Ironsides at home this Saturday.