St Ives Roosters 100% league record came to an abrupt end as they went down to bottom of the table side Milton Keynes Wolves. Despite having 9 first choice players unavailable and the Wolves being bolstered by players from Hemel Stags, the Roosters failed in the basic skill of making their tackles count.

The game was overshadowed by a serious injury to Roosters debutant Matt Neice who dislocated his knee and broke his shin bone early in the second half.

The Wolves opened the game in determined fashion and strong running led to their opening try after 6 minutes which they failed to convert. The Roosters hit back on 15 minutes after a Jamie Noble broke the Wolves defensive line. Nick Borkett was backing up and his subtle pass to Nathan Dewar allowed him to score under the posts. Jim Robinson added the conversion.

St Ives extended their lead 5 minutes later with James Yeomans providing the break for Borkett to exploit. He outpaced the covering defence and off loaded to Ali Walker for another score under the posts. Robinson once again converted. With the Roosters keeping possession of the ball Milton Keynes struggled to contain the Roosters attack. A gap was exploited by Jack Blackley. His neat kick through led to a race between the Roosters Dewar and Luke Slade to who would touch down first. Slade had the faster legs and Robinson’s conversion gave the Roosters a 16-4 lead.

The game looked set up for the Roosters to extend their winning run but the game turned after some poor defensive play. Two identical tries were scored by the Wolves within a minute. Both were breaks down the wing with both players having easy run in’s to score. A shell shocked Roosters were clearly rattled and they conceded a further two tries before half time to give the Wolves a 22 – 16 half time lead.

The half time whistle couldn’t come quick enough for the Roosters as they looked to re-group for the second half. Things started badly for them as Mickey Blackley was knocked unconscious by a deliberate late elbow off the ball. Despite the set back a flowing move by the Roosters allowed Dewar to score his second try of the game. This was followed by a trade mark David Sykes try as the Wolves defence went to sleep close to the line. This moved the Roosters into a 24 – 22 lead with 30 minutes to go.

This was as good as it got for the Roosters as they failed to deal with the Wolves strong running forwards in the last half hour. The Wolves wrapped the game up with three tries, two of which, were converted.

Roosters Director of Coaching commented “We failed to do the basics today and paid the price. We got bullied in the second half and the Wolves deserved their win. We’ve got to put this game behind us and look forward to next weeks game against Bedford”.