BASINGSTOKE RFC director of rugby James Croker says his side must work on their ball retention after a sloppy first-half performance away at Beckenham on Saturday.

’Stoke conceded an interception try after just 30 seconds of the London One South game in Kent and were unable to stamp their authority on the game throughout the first 40 minutes.

Croker said: “We had a very poor first-half. “We must learn to look after the ball and as a result we will be doing a lot of work on ball retention in training before our next game. “We were trying to force passes, which led to far too many errors.”

Basingstoke led 10-7 at the break, prop Ollie John getting a rare try, but they kicked on in the second-half. Adam Davies, Ryan Davis, Gavin Dampies and Jamie Fish all scored as the visitors claimed maximum league points from the game.

“On the positive side I was very pleased how the lads responded in the second-half,” Croker added. “We showed much more energy and as a result played at a much quicker tempo and the tries came.

“All in all it’s another bonus point win and we move on to our next game against Sidcup in two weeks’ time.”

See The Monday Gazette for a full report from Saturday's game.