It was a game of two halves on Saturday as Mowden fell to their first defeat to Bishop's Stortford at Silver Leys. Leading 5-21 at half time, the 16 point advantage was not enough as a strong second half performance from the hosts saw them take maximum points from the Round 12 clash.

Playing with a strong wind at their backs in the first 40, Mowden enjoyed the majority of the territory and quickly extended an early lead. After DMP's kick chase forced a penalty 5m out, Mowden's driving maul saw George Shannon dive over for the opening score. Warren Seals then extended the advantage to 8 points with a penalty after Stortford infringed at the ruck. Things got even better for the visitors on the half hour mark when Paul Jarvis pounced on a loose pass in midfield to race over under the posts for his second try in as many weeks. Seals added the extras to take the lead to 15 points. DMP were dealt a blow as Josh Crickmay came off injured, but the forwards continued to compete well with a big home pack. Mowden almost crossed for their third try soon after following a break from Brandon Asher-Wood, but a knock on close to the line denied them. Seals edged Mowden further ahead with another penalty, but Stortford responded well to narrow the gap soon after. After working their way into the DMP 22, prop Will Roberts burrowed over from close range to get the hosts on the board. There was still time for a third Seals penalty of the half, making the score 5-21 at the interval.

The second half saw Stortford show their cutting edge in attack, scoring 2 quickfire tries to all but wipe out DMP's half time advantage. Both came from driving mauls, with Rory Banks dotting down before a penalty try minutes later which saw Joe Craggs sent to the bin for collapsing the maul. Mowden defended well to keep the hosts out despite their man advantage, but Stortford put the game to bed with a further 2 tries in the final quarter. Winger Joss Linney crossed on the hour mark for the bonus point score, before replacement Jake Wrafter powered over with 10 minutes remaining. Mowden continued to fight in the final stages, and with the clock in the red Seals crossed for a consolation try after a brilliant offload from Ollie Hodgson.

Mowden will be hoping to bounce back this weekend when they welcome Chinnor to the Darlington Arena in a 3pm kick off.