Met Police 64 Islington Police Warthogs 94

Islington Police Warthogs enjoyed victory in a high-scoring 10-a-side match against their Met Police rivals.

Boosted by some guest players for a 60-minute match, they saw captain Dan Quinn set the early tempo with a strong run and led 14-10 after 10 minutes.

The Met side, having also played a day earlier, had to work hard to keep the Warthogs at bay and the teams traded tries throughout a frantic first half.

Ben Hazell scored a fine solo effort for Islington, which he also converted, to help his side go into the half-time break 61-41 up.

But the Met halved the deficit to 10 points after the restart and looking to be building momentum for a comeback, pinning Islington back for a 10-minute spell.

Islington weathered the storm and scored breakaway tries to pull clear once more, with Mo Dekiouk fending off two tacklers to touch down and Josh Clarke punching his way through to score.

Some heroic strides by Dan Owen helped Warthogs into a 82-57 lead, before Quinn took the ball 25 metres out and went under the posts with a defender on his heels.

And after the Met replied with a superb team try to claim another converted try, Islington had the final say as debutant Tom Beechinor glided along the touchline to claim the final try of the day.

Quinn said: “Spirit of rugby came through on the day with both teams showing talent, quality and respect. The players did us proud and are looking forward to our next fixture.”

Islington Police Warthogs are looking to establish a regular team for social rugby and are open to all and proudly sponsored by The Old Red Lion in Angel.