Tabard squandered an early lead after falling to a disappointing 29-8 defeat at Harpenden on Saturday.

Harpenden partially erased the memories of their drubbing at Welwyn two weeks previously with a bonus-point win against strugglers Tabard.

The result lifted Harpenden up to fifth in the table but leaves Tabard languishing tenth and just two places off the bottom in London Two North West.

Harp got off to a slow start, conceding a penalty which was converted by Jack Reilly after five minutes.

It got even better for the lively visitors after Teddy Gough touched down in the tenth minute to give the Radlett-based outfit an 8-0 lead.

However, the try jolted the hosts into action and from the resulting restart Tom Sweeney was able to pounce on the ball and touch down under the posts before adding two points with a successful conversion.

Harpenden skipper Michael Goode, who was making a welcome return from injury, then went over for a try following a rolling maul before Sweeney, who had earlier converted the try, added a penalty to take the score to 17-8 in their favour.

The start of the second half was a most scrappy affair as both sides struggled to cope with the heavy Harpenden pitch.

Harps eventually got their act together again and were rewarded with a Bobby Tane try in the right-hand corner on 60 minutes.

Five minutes later, after another period of sustained pressure, stand-off half Ollie Mann danced through a gap in the Tabard defence to bring up the bonus point try which was confidently converted by Sweeney.

Tabard have only picked up three wins in the league this season and will be looking to earn a victory tomorrow when they host mid-table Honourable Artillery Company.