For the first time in several weeks, L&Y played to their potential and absolutely destroyed a tough Stevenage team with a nine-try rout.

In the process they laid to rest the ghosts of the reverse encounter earlier in the season which was abandoned due to a pitch invasion and cost them a five-point sanction, and a huge blow to morale ever since. The task now is to move on and take this performance into their remaining matches.

The hosts took an early lead when Russ Chapman spun the ball to Scott Nelson and the flyhalf dummied and ran in under the posts for Dave Tiueti to bag his first of seven successful kicks. He and Stevenage fly-half Gareth Lewis traded penalties but it was all L&Y as far as territory and they stretched their lead when Nelson took a quick free kick and skilfully found Tiueti bursting off his shoulder for a scoring pass.

Stevenage reduced the arrears with a well worked try from prop Jacob Smith but L&Y kept control and scored twice either side of the half-time whistle, with both serving to earn the bonus point and kill off any resistance. A Ben Selby steal led to a penalty 40 metres out which Nelson, Tiueti and Myles McAlone took left into the 22 before a quick phase gave Chapman and Nelson the room to send Matt Howell over.

The talk at half-time was all about continuing the concentration and the result was an immediate try for McAlone after good work from Chris Howe Nelson and Tiueti, who kicked an amazing touchline conversion and repeated the feat 10 minutes later when Tom Port squeezed into the corner from the back of a ruck.

Gareth Lewis then scored and converted his own try for Stevenage before another break by man-of-the-match Tiueti saw L&Y reply through Selby.

The best try of the day was reserved to break the half-century and as a sweet moved ended with Stuart Moore scoring his debut try for the firsts. L&Y managed two more tries. A Chapman kick chase forced a five metre scrum from which Marc Thomas looped around the blind and over in the corner and then Chapman rounded events off by scoring himself.