Westcombe Park suffered their first defeat of the season when they were edged out narrowly at home by Hertford on Saturday.

Hertford crowded Combe’s backs and denied the home side good ball. 

The Orpington hosts scored first half tries through Kieran Leeper and Casey Stone, while Joe Simpson hit two penalties and Ben Hough a penalty and conversion.

But Hertford only trailed 21-17 at the break thanks to Dan Belton’s double try tally and James Russell’s two conversions and penalty.

Belton scored his third at the restart, with Russell again adding the extras.

Hertford were still ahead as the clock ticked down, only for Combe’s scrum half Joe Wilkes to score from a quick tap and snatch back the lead at 26-24.

However, Hertford’s Russell stroked over a long range penalty just before the final whistle to bring Combe’s winning streak to an end.

The setback means Combe now have to share top spot in the league and they will aim to bounce back quickly this weekend at Amersham & Chiltern.