Watford were reduced to 14 men early on against Hillingdon Abbots on Saturday, going on to lose 78-18.

The visitors scored immediately from kick off, returning the ball under the sticks. A second score soon followed and Watford found themselves 0-12 down.

With five minutes played the game effectively ended as a contest when Luke Bees was dismissed for tackle, much to surprise of both sets of players.

Hillingdon scored three clinical tries with Watford down to 13 after Jon McClennon had been sin binned.

Watford got one back when Richard Yates flew down the wing before passing to Paul Dunlop to score in the corner before the break.

The hosts capitalised on a rare Hillingdon mistake after the break when Yates scored under the posts.

Chasing the game, Watford made uncharacteristic errors which were ruthlessly punished by the visitors. The match was summed up with the final play, Watford attempting to run the ball from their own 22, spilling it, and a Hillingdon player seizing upon the mistake to score.

Watford’s last game of the calendar year sees them host Uxbridge on Saturday.

The Seconds had more a more successful afternoon, crushing Hemel Hempstead Thirds 29-0.