Fullerians suffered their first London Three North West defeat this season after losing 27-18 at Grasshoppers

The visitors fell behind after just one minute when the home side scored a penalty.

Grasshoppers extended their advantage with another three points before they crossed the line for the opening try.

After 30 minutes Fullers clawed their way into the game with a penalty in front of the posts.

The away side also scored an excellent try after good scrummaging by the pack led to the ball played out to full-back John Hudson. He passed to Ben Meyers, who scored in the corner to leave them trailing 16-8 at half-time.

The second half saw Fullers in the ascendancy and they started to get into their patterns of play. Grasshoppers couldn’t stop the onslaught and captain Ben Wetton was on hand to crash over. With fly-half Luc Jacobs on hand to add the extras, the score was 16-15.

But Grasshoppers upped their game as Fullers again dropped off the tackles and the home side were rewarded with a try in the corner.

Another penalty from Jacobs brought the visitors within three points but two penalties from Grasshoppers ended their hopes.

Head coach Rich Hoskins said: “We played well for about 20 minutes of the game only. We started and finished poorly but we only just lost and played poorly for most of the game. Grasshoppers put us under pressure and took most of their chances but were helped by weak tackling from us.

“You have to be on your game for 80 minutes in this league otherwise the opposition will punish you. It is a learning curve for us all and much to play for in this long season.”

Fullerians Under-15 As won their third successive promotion to seal a place in Herts Middlesex League 1.

Their players received their medals at a presentation on Saturday at the Saracens v Sale Sharks match at Allianz Park. Captain Nick Cortes and head coach Tim Horne received the cup along with five other players from the promoted team.