ROYSTON were convincingly beaten away at Hendon as they came up against a team that disrupted their set pieces well. Like past weeks, Royston seemed to be asleep from the off letting through some early tries that could have been avoided. This put them on

ROYSTON were convincingly beaten away at Hendon as they came up against a team that disrupted their set pieces well.

Like past weeks, Royston seemed to be asleep from the off letting through some early tries that could have been avoided.

This put them on the back foot for the best part of the first half, only taking three points from the boot of Andy Smith.

The home team continued to play well, attacking the fringes of the rucks and mauls near Royston's try line which led to more scores before the half was played out.

The Crows came out in the second period a bit more lively and put together some successful plays as they added extra commitment at the breakdowns.

The away team were still struggling with their lineout and scrum, an area in which they are normally strong.

The combination of strong winds and a good Hendon front jumper meant that lineout options were limited and it was hard to get clean ball.

Midway through the second half, Royston's number eight was red carded for lack of discipline while addressing the referee.

This put even more pressure on the unstable scrum leaving the half back very exposed and unable to feed the ball to the back line effectively.

By now the game was out of sight for Royston as the home team had put a total of six tries past them.

But a consolation score was just squeezed in before the final whistle was sounded.

Some soft hands from the backs led to winger Andy Smith receiving the ball with some space.

He outpaced his opposite man and then chipped the ball over the fullback before winning another foot race to touch it down for an outstanding individual try.

The final score was 36-8 in Hendon's favour leaving Royston in need of some major improvements before their next league game at the Heath this Saturday.