Relentless Holt go marching on at top

The challenge was there for Holt to carry on from where they left off at Sudbury by maintaining their excellent record against unfamiliar opponents, who also boasted a 100pc record before the weekend.

The hosts played against the wind from the start and took the game into their opponents' half, but lost possession and Harlow went ahead with a penalty.

Holt gradually got themselves back into the other half, but did not help themselves by conceding penalties. Their defence was also being tested to the full, but Harlow were kept at bay and Holt almost scored from a driving maul. From the ensuing five metre scrum, the ball was spun wide and Jarry-Ryan finished off the move by scoring an unconverted try in the corner to give his side the lead.

Within a couple of minutes Holt increased their lead when Young made a break, giving Graham Ilsley a clear run to the line. The conversion was successful, giving the home side a 12-3 lead at the break.

Although it was Harlow who made the early running at the start of the scond half, the home side worked their way up field and were rewarded when Young broke through to score under the posts. By converting his own try, he increased the lead to 19-3 and the home side were beginning to dictate.

Holt again went into overdrive, when Jarry-Ryan scored his second try of the match 16 minutes later, with Young adding the points with an excellent conversion. With this try, a bonus point had been achieved, but the hosts could not relax as Harlow came back strongly but Holt's defence was equal to everything that was thrown at it. Holt had a player sin- binned with 10 minutes remaining, which meant they would be down to 14 men for the rest of the game.

Although most of the final minutes were played in Holt's half, it was Young who scored and converted in the dying seconds to complete another fine win, which put the team seven points clear at the top of the table.