Tabard suffered a 39-25 home defeat to newly-promoted Old Merchant Taylors' in London Two North West.

It was a promising start for the hosts at Cobden Hill as they raced into a 19-0 lead after only 15 minutes of the contest. But their joy proved to be shortlived as three tries from the visitors in the final ten minutes continued their losing run in the league.

Tabard opened the scoring in the tenth minute when Rhys Lewis received a pass from Harry Gough and managed to cross the line for a well-worked try. The home side kept the pressure on their opponents and extended their lead when Joe Calnan touched the ball down to make the scoreline 12-0.

Within three minutes Tabard scored again when a lineout drive from the home side resulted in John Tilley crossing the line for a converted try.

But this sparked an impressive fightback from OMTs as their winger managed to score twice in the corner which brought them right back into the contest.

Tabard responded and their scrum helped them win a penalty which Gough kicked over to give them a 22-12 lead at half-time.

The visitors upped their game significantly following the restart and quickly added another try to leave the game hanging in the balance.

Tabard edged further clear with a much-needed three points from the boot of Gough which stretched their lead to 25-17.

But with just ten minutes remaining OMTs upped the tempo once more as they produced a dramatic finish with three tries taking the game away from Tabard.

Tabard will have to wait for their chance to bounce back. The team's next match is at home to Staines on October 11.