EAST LONDON 41 - BANCROFT 14

Inspired by England's forgotten man Steffon Armitage watching from the sideline, East London got their Essex League 1 campaign off to a winning start by beating Bancroft 41-14 at the Memorial Ground in West Ham.
Tries by skipper Nick Parrott and scrum-half Daryl O'Brien gave the home side the perfect start within 30 minutes. Both tries were converted by fly-half Ryan Billinghurst who also added a penalty kick three minutes later.
Shortly before the break a kick through by full back Adam Brown was chased by right winger Kwesi Scantlebury who outpaced the last Bancroft defender to touch down. The conversion was missed to leave the score 22-0 at the break.
Bancroft narrowed the gap soon after the restart with a converted try but on 66 minutes East London centre Kenton Stanford bulldozed his way over the try line and Billinghurst converted.
Five minutes later winger Tom Little intercepted a Bancroft attack close to his own 22 metre line and then raced the length of the pitch for a try that Billinghurst converted. Little scored again soon after when he chased a kick through from O'Brien to touch down. The conversion was missed. At the death Bancroft scored a consolation converted try.
Having scored enough tries to claim the extra winning bonus point the win puts East London into second place in the league behind neighbours Ilford who they visit on Saturday. Coach Gary Pearmain said: "This was a solid win to start our league season."
East London 1st XV vs Bancroft: 1 Gary Pearmain 2 Will Masters 3 Paddy Coman 4 Vinny Lally 5 Matthew Schofield 6 Brian Kennedy 7 Nick Parrott 8 Rob Herbert 9 Daryl O'Brien 10 Ryan Billinghurst 11 Tom Little 12 Kenton Stanford 13 Roman Gogjila 14 Kwesi Scantlebury 15 Adam Brown. Replacements: Eoin Kelly, Sam Corbett, Paul Arkwright.