By Mark Bruce

Another game of two halves saw Gravesend lose 34-10 to Regional 2 South East visitors Battersea Ironsides - their sixth defeat in seven matches.

In a disappointing first half Gravesend’s defence were ripped open when Battersea made the most from turning over good ball in the middle of the pitch. The hosts need to retain possession and be more aggressive at the breakdown if they are to remain in this league next season.

That said, Gs started off positively and with the impressive academy pairing of Will Steiner and debutant Nathan Anderson in action there was more than a youthful look about the team.

It wasn’t long before Battersea identified the home side’s weakness, turned over the ball and scored out wide. This was followed by another self-inflicted try as scrum-half Ned Warren was charged down close to the line. By the time Steiner scored towards the end of the half Gravesend were down by 27 points.

The second half was a tighter affair as Gravesend shored up their defence and for large parts had good spells of possession. In an afternoon when the penalty count would have suggested they were on top, they did manage another score when Samraj Chahal went over.

It looked like that was going to be that, but then Battersea once again opened up and went over for the final try which they converted to win by 24 points.

Gravesend, in 10th, return to league action at sixth-place Old Tiffinians on November 9.