National League Division 1

Henley seem doomed for relegation after losing 25-13 at Rugby in a match they had to win to keep their survival hopes alive.

After a bright start, which saw them lead 13-11 at the interval, Henley faded away in what was undoubtedly their poorest performance of a disappointing season.

They came away from Webb Ellis Road with nothing as they conceded three tries, two of which were the result of poor defensive play.

This was all the more disappointing as they promised much in the first half when Barry Reeves evaded some weak tackles to score a try which full back Jon Reeves converted. He also landed two penalty goals.

New prop Henry Nwume, from Oxford University, received a yellow card for killing the ball in the tackle, which meant that Henley started the second period with 14 men.

To makes matters worse, skipper Mark Venner had to withdraw with a dislocated finger and Matt Jones followed him with a badly torn hamstring.

Hawks never recovered and despite some dogged defending, they were unable to prevent Rugby's Richard Davies scoring two converted tries.