Although having to select 3 forwards in their back line due to injuries, Avon made light of the changes in the first half as they raced to a 19-3 lead with tries from Chaz Meddick, Chris Mutlow and Scott Book.

Imperial scored a try to close the gap but with time running out, there was no sign of the drama to come with Avon odds on to extend their winning run. Deciding to throw caution to the winds, Imps ran the ball at every opportunity and took advantage of some unusually slack defence to add another quickfire hat-trick of converted tries to turn the game on its head and leave Avon wondering what could have been.

Meanwhile Avon 2nds hosted St Mary’s 3rds who stepped in at short notice to fill a gap. Although not a Merit Table match, St Mary’s showed great sportsmanship to loan a few players to Avon to balance out the numbers in the spirit of rugby. An enjoyable match resulted with Avon just edging a close competitive game with tries from skipper Louis Belsten, Matt Thresher, Dave Rutter (2), Francesco (2) and Connor.