Elks kicked into a strong wind in the first half and were soon on the score sheet, following a midfield scrum the ball was moved right and Greg Taylor made a superb break in midfield, he drew the full back and fed Lewis Taylor who went under the posts for the first try. Joel Haigh converted to give the Elks a seven point lead after only 4 minutes.

Huntingdon were quick to respond well using the wind for territory. The Elks were penalised for off side and the penalty kick was cleanly struck to make it 3-7 after 6 minutes.

The Huntingdon pack were looking strong and the Elks were again penalised following a good driving maul, again the kick was cleanly struck to make it 6-7 after 9 minutes.

Huntingdon had chance to take the lead with a further penalty kick but this was pushed wide on 15 minutes. They did not have to wait long however as they continued to attack, Greg Taylor was penalised for not rolling away after making a great tackle and Huntingdon kicked to the corner, the line was taken clean and they moved the ball left. It was driven twice again by the forwards and space appeared for the final drive to go in under the posts, this was converted to give Huntingdon the lead 13-7 after 18 minutes.

Elks were finding it hard going against the wind and a very aggressive Huntingdon pack. Matt Watkins replaced Jake Smithurst on 24 minutes.

Huntingdon were beginning to dominate possession and after another series of drives by the forwards they moved the ball left to score in the corner after 35 minutes, unconverted to make it 18-7.

Elks were penalised again at the breakdown and the referee yellow carded Greg Taylor on 37 minutes. The penalty was kicked to stretch the lead to 21-7. Elks finished the half on the attack but play was stopped by a knock on when half time was called with the score 21-7.

Elks now had the wind and were looking to bridge the 14 point gap, but things didn’t go to plan however as after being caught in possession the Elks were penalised in their own 22, this was kicked through the posts to make it 24-7 after 45 minutes.

The Elks effort was better in the second half but final passes were not sticking as they chased the game. Isaac Taylor and Ryan Mills came off for Jake Heath & Dean Chapman respectively on 55 minutes.

Despite the wind advantage the Elks were struggling to break down an aggressive Huntingdon defence. The Elks finally made a good chance when following a chip ahead Heath chased down the full back forcing him to touch down behind his try line, this resulted in a 5 metre scrum for the Elks, it was driven forward and Adam Corcoran peeled off and scored on 66 minutes. Haigh converted well from wide right to close the score to 24-14.

Elks were finally putting Huntingdon under pressure but despite several penalties Elks kick to touch plan was not working as the line outs were not being won.

Elks were seeing plenty of possession but mistakes at vital times were stopping progress. Following a series of Huntingdon penalties the Elks opted to kick for the losing bonus point as time was running out, Haighs kick fell just short and soon after full time was blown. 24-14

This was another below par performance from the Elks but credit to Huntingdon whose aggressive defence won the game in the first half, not many highlights from the Elks, Greg Taylor gave his all and Lewis Taylor looked sharp, but Man of the Match went to Joel Haigh who made the most of some scrappy possession with some excellent service and at times kept us in the game.

Next week does not get any easier as table topping Peterborough Lions visit the Stute, this would be the ideal time to find a top performance.