Luton Rugby close on title after Romford rout

Luton secured their sixth consecutive bonus-point victory in London One North on Saturday with a 38-0 victory at Romford & Gidea Park, writes Ryan Lewis.

The win in Essex ensured Luton are within touching distance of Eton Manor and Westcliff at the top of the division, with the latter visiting Newlands Road on Saturday.

In a match that was full of aggression and high tempers, Luton demonstrated their ability to play attacking rugby by scoring six tries without reply.

The match started with neither side gaining control over the other, as a number of errors prevented either from playing fluently.

The first real action arrived on 13 minutes when Romford’s Tom Cameron was yellow-carded after the home side constantly infringed.

With the ball in Romford’s 22, Luton capitalised on their territory and man advantage.

Luton fly-half Rik Hobbs received a pass from scrum-half Robbie Smith on Romford’s 22 line and off-loaded a stunning basketball-style pass out of the back of his hand in the tackle to his brother Jake Hobbs.

With defenders sucked in, Jake was able to sprint through and score to the right of the posts.

With Cameron back on the field for Romford, it only took two more minutes before another scuffle broke out.

This time it was Romford’s Ricky Howard who initiated it with a very dangerous high tackle on Luton wing Chris Davies.

Howard then deservedly saw red as Luton had a man advantage for the rest of the match, despite only 24 minutes having been played.

Sensing blood, Luton Luton proceeded to play at a high tempo as further tries followed on 28 and 34 minutes.

A loose kick from Romford full-back Ross Inwood enabled Mike Weston to show his pace and skill to score Luton’s second try.

He produced a strong run from 30 metres out as the back-row forward scored to the right of the posts.

Jake Hobbs looked dangerous throughout the match, constantly looking to break tackles and use his pace to beat Romford’s on-rushing defence.

The centre’s second try came on 34 minutes through a lovely backs move.

Good hands from Tom Mahendran and Tom Wilmore put Jake Hobbs in and he was able to roll over and ground the ball over the line in the right corner.

However, Chris Talanoa was unable to convert his third conversion from a difficult touchline kick into a strong cross-wind as Luton led 19-0 at half time.

Unable to withstand Luton’s attacks Romford tried to slow the match down.

Knowing a bonus point was essential in their quest for promotion, Luton’s fourth try arrived on 44 minutes.

Smith took a Luton penalty quickly and, with Romford’s defence not back the full 10 metres, the Kiwi was allowed to go one-on-one with the hosts’ full-back.

With plenty of space behind the on-rushing defender, Smith kicked the ball into the 22 as Wilmore outpaced Steve Barfoot to ground the ball under the posts.

Leading 26-0 and with the bonus point secure, the visitors ran in two more tries in the last half an hour.

A superb move on 56 minutes brought Luton their try of the match.

Centre Jake Hobbs started the move from his own 22 as he beat two defenders before passing to Weston.

Weston was able to palm off the defence before passing to full-back Mahendran, who was able to showcase his speed to score under the posts.

Back-rower Weston then got his second on 67 minutes when he palm off two would-be tacklers to score in the left corner.

Talanoa was unable to convert, but the match was already won, with Luton needed to win their three remaining matches to potentially make promotion a reality.

This Saturday East Midlands Cup finalists Luton host second-placed Westcliff as they look to gain ground in the London One North promotion race.

Romford: Tyler Lawrence, Micky James (C), Matthew Worral-Claire (Max Irwin 40), Matt Catchpole, Sam Cook, Charlie Wilkinson (Ian Semain 35), Paul Bradley, Ricky Howard, Tom Cameron, Bradley Norman, Joe Howard, Mitchell Smith, Steve Barfoot (Mithcell Smith 52), Vytaras Bloskys, Ross Inwood.

Luton: Sam Pacey, Ben Murphy, Marc Tindall (Dwayne Duffy 59), Craig South, Karl Rodell (Adam Harris 40), Tom Albone, Mike Weston, Jack Elston (C), Robbie Smith, Rik Hobbs, Chris Davies (Ryan Staff 40), Jake Hobbs, Chris Talanoa, Tom Wilmore, Tom Mahendran. T: J Hobbs 2, Weston 2, Wilmore, Mahendran. C: Talanoa 4.

Referee: Mark Dickens.

Touch Judges: Jerry Hanafin and Keith Bromage.

Star Luton Man: Jake Hobbs. Continued his try-scoring form with two scores and started a number of attacks with some strong running.