In a cagey affair which saw both teams come up with some uncharacteristic errors, it was the visitors who took their chances to open up an 11 point gap between themselves and Luton in the promotion race.

Both teams struggled to find their feet in the early exchanges as they made some simple errors looking to gain the better of the territory and it was Luton who opened the scoring in the sixth minute through Chris Talanoa, who converted a penalty after Westcliff were penalised for entering a ruck from the side.

The match continued to be an error shrewd game and chances were few as both defences were on top, but it was the hosts who extended their lead in the 21st minute through another Talanoa penalty after the visitors where caught offside.

Territory proved pivotal in this close encounter as both teams’ looked unbreakable but after a sustained period inside Luton’s 22m, Westcliff’s Chris Marsh powered his way through for the opening try in the 37th minute, Jack Jones added the simple conversion to give the visitors a 7-6 lead.

Luton looked like they had hit back straight away as Tom Wilmore raced down the right edge before passing to R Hobbs who touched down in the corner, but the touch judge ruled that Hobbs had stepped out of play to keep the score at 7-6 at the half time break.

Both teams looked to be more expansive at the beginning of the second half as they tried to get the ball out to their exciting backs and it was Luton who looked the most likely to regain the lead as they created a couple of breaks but each time it came to nothing as they looked to force the final pass, which allowed the visitor's defence to get back and clear the danger.

Luton came up with a costly error inside their own 22m and Westcliff made them pay when Andy Roskams spun his way over from close range, Jones added the conversion to give the visitors a bit of breathing space on the scoreboard.

Luton responded well and pushed Westcliff inside their own 22m before Michael Weston proved too strong for the visitors defence as he crashed over to score but Rik Hobbs was unsuccessful with the conversion to take the score to 14-11 with 25 minutes still to play.

The match continued to be a tightly contested affair but the visitors extended their lead in the 55th minute when Jones added a simple penalty when Luton was caught offside.

Jones added another penalty two minutes later when Tom Mahendran was penalised for a late tackle to give the visitors a two score lead.

Luton put pressure on themselves by making some simple errors and Westcliff made them pay when the passed the ball out wide into open space for Chris Dudman to dive in at the corner, Jones added the difficult conversion to give Westcliff a 27-11 lead with 15 minutes left on the clock.

The hosts needed a quick response if they wanted to get anything out of the game but Westcliff’s defence held firm until the 71st minute when Wilmore touched down in the corner to give Luton a bit of hope but the visitors held out to secure the crucial 27-16 victory.

To see the full match day photo gallery go to Ian Nancollas Images

Luton Team: Sam Pacey, Ben Murphy, Jack Elborn (Adam Harris 52), Karl Roddell (Pat Nelly 40), Craig South, Ryan Staff, Michael Weston, Jack Elston (Tom Albone 40), Robbie Smith, Chris Talanoa, Rik Hobbs, Steve Ellis, Jake Hobbs, Tom Wilmore, Tom Mahendran.
T: Weston, Wilmore. P: Talanoa 2

Westcliff Team: Harley Skidmore (George Parmenter 45), Jack Hopkins, Ewan Binneman, Ian Dartnell, Matt Roberts Kostas Dellas 56), Angus Martyn, Chris Marsh, Sam Reynolds, Andy Roskams, Jack Jones (Shaun Roberts 70), Ross Merrick, Elliot Harvey, Buster Reynolds, Chris Dudman, Greg Bannister.
T: Marsh, Roskams, Dudman. C: Jones 3. P: Jones 2.

Referee: Andrew Beckett

Luton Star Man: Craig South. His strong runs and defence caused problems for Westcliff all game.