Woodford were forced to settle for a 15-15 draw after a ding-dong battle with Bury St Edmunds.

The Highams men clawed their way back to take the lead after conceding an early try.

Pete Hyett’s penalty reduced the arrears and, once Bury established their seven-point lead with a penalty of their own, fly-half David Gabe ran in an excellent try to pull to within two points.

Hyett then pounced to cross the line after half-time and his own conversion put Woodford five points clear of the visitors. However, a try 15 minutes from time levelled things up and both sides had to be content with a point apiece.

Woodford welcome Stevenage Town at the weekend.

Elsewhere, Chingford slipped off the pace in London One North as they suffered an agonising last-minute defeat against Staines.

Leading by a point with seconds left on the clock, the Waltham Wayers were in a strong position deep in Staines territory, but the visitors were able to break away and score under the posts.

Locked on 20 points at the top of the table with Westcliff before kick-off, Chingford began well and took the lead when good work from Steve Hollis and Donnagh Fitzgerald created the chance for David Knight to cross the line, Kurt Forward adding the extras for a 7-0 scoreline.

Penalties from Staines either side of the break reduced the deficit to a point, but the game looked safe when Chingford had a lineout inside Staines territory, but they lost the ball and the away side streaked clear to score.

The result leaves Chingford two points adrift of leaders Westcliff in third ahead of Saturday’s game against fourth-placed Civil Service.

Meanwhile, Eton Manor enjoyed an impressive 25-8 victory over Harpenden to move them up into tenth.

However, they will have to be on top form when they make the trip to table-toppers Westcliff this week.

In London Three North-East, Wanstead failed to get on the scoreboard as they were defeated 20-0 by Wisbech.

In Essex One, Bancroft were handed a home walkover after local rivals Ilford Wanderers failed to field a full team. A mouth-watering clash at East London awaits them this week, with both sides tied for second on 12 points, while Ilford face the first of five successive home games against Millwall.

Meanwhile, Wanstead’s minis took on Burnham on Sea at the weekend. The under-11s cruised to victory 64-14. Ronan McGoldrick, George Romano, Rory Thomas and Morgan Cooper were outstanding during a game that also saw a first try for Harry Pockets.

The U10s enjoyed a five-try win over their opponents, with tries from Harry Wagstaff, Kole Ducry, Tommy Collins and two from man-of-the-match George Blatchford.

The U9s recorded a comfortable victory in their first game. The U7s’ second string played out a 7-7 draw, Jasper McNally-Drew scoring a fantastic debut try.