A spirited Henley Hawks lost 29-10 at home to National 2 leaders Otley, leaving them six points adrift of safety.

New head coach Jason Forster was pleased with the performance, which suggested Henley could still avoid relegation.

Hawks started well, particularly up front, and took the lead with a penalty from Danny Wells.

Otley hit back against the run of play when they disrupted a five-metre scrum and flanker Dan Hyde touched down for Robin Kitching to convert.

Scrummaging was Henley's Achilles heel and Otley's second try came as they lost control on their own put-in with Kitching scoring and con- verting.

Hawks almost scored before the break when wing Tom Burns knocked on as he attempted to ground the ball after centre Mark Sweeney wrong-footed the covering defence.

Wing Mark Odejobi's interception stopped an Otley try and he came close to scoring at the other end.

But the visiting pack gained control, scoring tries through lock Howard Parr (2) and replacement flanker Xavier Andre.

Henley lost lock James Winterbottom to injury, having used all their four replacements.

But they rallied well and set up the platform for replacement hooker Dinos Alexipoulos to be driven over, with Wells converting.

Forster said: "It was disappointing to lose, but I was pleased that the team played with passion and commit- ment against a side that are certainly the champions-elect.

"The difference between the two sides was that they were able turn their opportunities into points.

"We had four try-scoring openings which we failed to take, whilst they converted their four turnover chances to build a winning lead.

"Nevertheless, there were a number of positives from this performance and some of the players played extremely well.

"Skipper Rob Hurrell, prop Andy Le Chevalier, wing Mark Odejobi and in particular Matt Payne stood out, amongst others."