Sudbury lose 48-0 to well-drilled HAC in London 1 North

Sudbury were beaten 48-0 by a well-drilled Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) side in London at the weekend.

Ben Scully’s charges travelled to heart of the city of London on Saturday to play rugby in the most regal setting in the whole of English rugby.

Unfortunately, their performance was not as entertaining as the guided tour of the ceremonial guns used for Royal Salutes at the Tower, prior to the game.

Perhaps overawed by the venue, Sudbury never got into their stride and a slick, well-drilled home side out played them right from the off to run out comfortable winners in this London 1 North contest.

In blustery conditions, HAC attacked from the start and had scored inside the first four minutes, after several phases of play in the Sudbury red zone, their captain nipped through the gap to score.

A Sudbury mistake at the restart gave the initiative back to the home side and again Scully’s men were under pressure.

A lineout and a rolled maul led to the second try at still only six minutes in, before play continued in the Sudbury half.

The visitors weathered the storm, but each time the Blues made any progress they would make a mistake and the move would end.

The whole game was littered with penalties, as both sides were equally guilty, and on the stroke of half time HAC opted to kick to finish the first half 17-0 up.

Five minutes into the second half, Sudbury were awarded a penalty but the kick failed to make touch, and HAC ran back from midway in their own half to score.

The second half was played at a slightly slower pace, but the hosts still dominated possession and territory and scored the bonus point with a well-worked try, using their backs to work the ball through the hands midway through the half.

The only successes of the day for the visitors were in the lineouts and from a five line Sudbury took and rolled the maul, but the defence held firm until Sudbury shipped it wide and knocked on in the act of scoring, their best chance gone.

With only five minutes left, HAC ran in three more soft tries against a tiring Sudbury, the last of which had an outrageous forward pass which the referee did not see, but which made no difference to the result.

• In Greene King IPA Eastern Counties One Bowl, Halstead Templars were awarded a home walkover in their scheduled home game with Saffron Walden II.

This weekend is a free weekend, with fixtures set to resume on March 23.