Luton ran in eight tries to record a comfortable 51-23 victory over Ruislip on Saturday, to record their second victory in a row in London One North division.

Luton took complete control of the game from the outset with constant pressure on Ruislip’s try line and the pressure paved way for Brandon Lewsey to cross for the first try in the seventh minute.

The winger profited from some good work in defence from Michael Weston who stole the ball in the tackle and fed center Jake Hobbs who drew in the opposition winger before off-loading to Lewsey who touched down in the corner for an unconverted try.

The hosts were in control of territory and possession but could not add to their lead and they were made to pay in the 20th minute when Ruislip capitalised on their first real chance to touch down in the corner, after center Alex Fieldhouse broke through before feeding Michael Reed to score, Danny Barry converting to take the score to 5-7.

Luton responded straight away as Lewsey crossed for his second of the match as some sustained pressure after Aiden Kenny went close before Tom Mahendren’s cut out pass created room for the winger to cross in the corner, Rik Hobbs converting.

The visitors kept in touch on the scoreboard thanks to two successful penalties from Barry before R.Hobbs added one for the hosts to take the score to 15-13 Luton with four minutes left of the first half.
Luton extended their lead in the dying seconds of the half after some superb passing created room for J.Hobbs to score under the post.
Some superb ball handling created room for Doug Fluker to race down the wing before somehow finding a pass to J.Hobbs who raced 40 meters to score, R.Hobbs converted to take the score to 22-13 at the half time break.

Paul Allen, Director of rugby at Luton would have been happy with the way his team performed in the first half but knew they had to keep the pressure on if they wanted to get the victory.

Luton could not have asked for a better start to the second half as they crossed with just 41 seconds on the clock after a strong run by substitute Steve Ellis who went agonisingly close before scrum half Mahendren forced his way over for an unconverted try.

The visitors hit back two minutes later with another successful penalty from Barry before Luton were sent down to 14 men after Pat Nelly saw yellow for a swinging arm in the tackle.

Ruislip got some much needed territory thanks to the penalty and they looked to take advantage of the extra man but as they looked to pass the ball out wide, Luton’s J.Hobbs intercepted the cut out pass to race 80 meters to score under the sticks, R.Hobbs converting.

Luton were back in complete control and as Kelly re-entered the field of play from the sin bin in 53rd minute they extended their lead after Jake Elston picked the ball up from the back of an attacking scrum to charge over in the corner for an unconverted try.

The sustained pressure put onto Ruislip’s defence started to show as Luton started to carve through on regular occurrence and in the 62nd minute Luton had all put the game to bed when Nelly pounced onto a loose ball to score next to the up-rights for an unconverted try.

Ruislip hit back three minutes later when a clever kick over the top from Barry was met by substitute winger Stuart Pearham who held off the Luton defence to score in the corner, Pearham converting.

Luton continued to break the visitors defence on regular occurrence and in the 77th minute they scored again through Ellis who pushed off three defenders before racing 30 meters to score under the post, R.Hobbs converting to take the final score to 51-23 Luton.

Luton Team: Sam Pacey, Ryan Shepard (Jack Elborn 62), Mark Tindall, Pat Nelly, Tom Albone, Ryan Staff, Michael Weston, Jack Elston (Matt Yang 70), Tom Mahendren, Rick Hobbs, Brandon Lewsey, Tom Wilmore(Steve Ellis 40), Jake Hobbs, Doug Fluker, Aiden Kenny. T: Lewsey (2), J.Hobbs (2), Mahendren, Elston, Nelly, Ellis. C: R.Hobbs (4). P: R.Hobbs.

Ruislip Team: Jamie Woodstock (Jack Coleman 47), Dennis Rowe, Liam Clancy, Sam Jones, Dan O’Leary, Johnny Fieldhouse, Ioan Lewis, Luke Eastwell (Jake Young 68), Sam Broderick, Danny Barry, Johnny Baxter, Dan Porter (Stuart Pearham 38), Alex Fieldhouse, Michael Reed, Connor Mullan. T: Reed, Pearham. P: Barry (3). C: Barry, Pearham.

Referee: Mathew Coultas
Touch Judges: Jeremiah Hanafin and David Mills
Luton Star Man: Ryan Staff. His strong running and defence caused problems for Ruislip all game, although many players could have got the Star Man in a brilliant team performance.

Adam Busfield