Ruislip routes by lively Luton in fine win

Luton ran in eight tries to claim a comfortable 51-23 victory over Ruislip on Saturday and record their second-straight London One North victory, writes Adam Busfield.

The hosts 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 on seven minutes.

The winger profited from some good work in defence by Michael Weston who stole the ball in the tackle and fed centre 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.

Centre Alex Fieldhouse broke through before feeding Michael Reed to score, with Danny Barry converting to edge them ahead.

Luton responded straight away as Lewsey crossed for his second of the match after some sustained pressure.

Aiden Kenny had gone close before Tom Mahendren’s cut-out pass created room for the winger to cross in the corner, with Rik Hobbs converting.

The visitors kept in touch on the scoreboard thanks to two successful penalties from Barry before Rik Hobbs added one for the hosts to make the score 15-13 to Luton with four minutes left of the first half.

And Luton extended their lead in the dying seconds after some superb passing created room for Jake 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 Jake Hobbs who raced 40m to score, with Rik Hobbs adding the extras to put Luton 22-13 up at the break.

Luton kept the pressure up in the second half and got off to the perfect start as strong-running substitute Steve Ellis went agonisingly close before scrum-half Mahendren forced his way over for an unconverted try with just 41 seconds on the clock.

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

Ruislip claimed some much needed territory thanks to the penalty as they looked to take advantage of the extra man.

But, as they looked to pass the ball out wide, Jake Hobbs intercepted the cut-out pass to race 80m and score under the sticks, with Rik Hobbs converting.

Luton were back in complete control and, as Kelly returned from his sin-binning on 53 minutes, the hosts extended their lead further as 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 on Ruislip’s defence started to show as Luton started to carve through at regular intervals.

And Luton had all but put the game to bed when Nelly pounced on a loose ball to score next to the up-rights for an unconverted try on 62 minutes.

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, before converting himself.

Luton continued to break through the visitors’ defence and Ellis got on the scoresheet with three minutes to go when he pushed off three defenders before racing 30m to score under the post, with Rik Hobbs adding the extras to complete a 51-23 victory for Luton.

Luton will look to keep their good run going when they travel to Woodford on Saturday.

Luton: Sam Pacey, Ryan Shepard (Jack Elborn 62), Mark Tindall, Pat Nelly, Tom Albone, Ryan Staff, Michael Weston, Jack Elston (Matt Yang 70), Tom Mahendren, Rik 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: 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.

Star Luton Man: Ryan Staff. His strong running and defensive qualities caused problems for Ruislip all game, although many players could have been named man of the match in a brilliant team performance.