Braintree Rugby Club’s hopes of kickstarting their miserable season at London League division two north east’s bottom club Old Cooperians floundered in the Upminster mud as they suffered an 11th successive defeat.

The Black and Ambers, boosted by the return of some of the players they lost to university at the end of summer, worked hard throughout a closely-fought encounter.

But poor decision-making and individual mistakes, coupled with their inability to retain the ball at the breakdown cost them dearly in a 17-10 defeat.

Joint first-team coach Brian Joslin said: “We were hoping to build on our much better display against Saffron Walden but we were unable to attain the same level of performance.

“We struggled to exert control at the breakdown where they had the upper hand and we seemed to get constantly penalised by the ref."

Things don’t get any easier for Braintree when they entertain Enfield Ignatians and their massive pack at Robbs Wood on Saturday in their final game before the Christmas break.