Sudbury marched on in London 1 North with an emphatic 45-0 home win against local rivals Ipswich and, for the sixth consecutive game, they scored 40 points.

East Anglian Daily Times: RFC Sudbury v Ipswich.RFC Sudbury v Ipswich. (Image: Archant)

As a result, the west Suffolk side moved up to second in the table, above their next opponents, in a fortnight’s time, Diss.

Sudbury opted to play up the slope in the first half and ran the ball back against an improving Ipswich team that had won four of their last six games.

The hosts won an early scrum against the heavier Ipswich pack and then kicked for touch when awarded a penalty.

From the lineout in the Ipswich 22, the pack drove for the line and the referee had no hesitation in awarding a penalty try as the maul was dragged down.

Chris Lewis kicked the conversion for a 7-0 lead with three minutes played.

Sudbury shipped the ball wide at every opportunity and were soon back in the Ipswich 22 with a break from Harry Maile. Ipswich kicked for relief but from the lineout, the home side drove the maul again before quick hands into the centre for Maile saw him claim the points.

The Sudbury forwards were having success at the set pieces, despite the size disadvantage, and Chris Whybrow broke from the scrum and through the tackles to run 30 metres to score with 20 minutes played.

Lewis left the field soon after having converted all three tries but his replacement, Jasper Boydell, fitted seamlessly into the gap. Ipswich made a rare visit to the Sudbury red zone and had five phases of play on the hosts’ line but were unable to break the home defence.

East Anglian Daily Times: RFC Sudbury v Ipswich.RFC Sudbury v Ipswich. (Image: Archant)

Just before half-time, from a scrum in the Ipswich half, Sudbury shipped the ball from left to right across the pitch for Shaun Smith to score wide on the right and give the West Suffolk side a 26-0 lead ta the break.

Sudbury kicked deep into the Ipswich half from the restart and were enjoying the best of the action but fell foul of the referee’s whistle several times at the scrum.

The visitors struggled to match Sudbury for pace and this gave Graham Richards’ side that extra second of thinking-time and space to work in. After a quarter of an hour, Pete Dedross grabbed a loose ball and the hooker ran 30 metres to score, with the conversion by Tom Summers.

The Ipswich attack was always contained by the Sudbury defence, preventing any serious moves into home territory.

A well-weighted grubber kick moved play to the Ipswich five and the knock-on gave Sudbury possession at the scrum. Several phases of play kept Sudbury in the red zone and an Ipswich five lineout gave the hosts possession again before Boydell nipped through on the blind side as the backs kept the ball moving.

Sudbury had two players binned in the last 10 minutes, one for a high tackle which the crowd thought was a little harsh, but the second was well deserved as the team gave away four penalties in the red zone to kill the ball and prevent any score from Ipswich in their last attempt to save the whitewash.

Sudbury eventually cleared their lines and broke back into the visitors’ territory. Another deft kick ahead put the ball behind the defence and Sudbury ran through to touch down.

East Anglian Daily Times: RFC Sudbury v Ipswich.RFC Sudbury v Ipswich. (Image: Archant)