Streatham-Croydon skipper Garvin Toussaint says his team are paying the price for giving away too many penalties.

Following a second Surrey Division Two defeat on the spin – going down 33-27 at Battersea Ironsides – Toussaint still believes Streatham can win the league, but they need to cut out the mistakes and the whole team needs to show commitment to the cause.

Tries from Walter Pretorius, Kai Cassemis (two) and Seb Russell-Sharam, with a Chris Geary penalty and two Nigel Rudge conversions were not enough against the Ironsides.

Toussaint said: “We have come a long way as a team from the days in Surrey Three and Four, we have a team that can perform.

“But we are making too many mistakes. In the lower leagues you can make three or four mistakes in a game and you won’t be punished, but at this level it can only take one mistake to lose a game.

“We are giving away too many penalties, sometimes upwards of 12 points a game.

“If you consider we lost to Ironsides by six points, and we lost to Chipstead by five points the weekend before, that is two games lost that should have been won.”

He added: “The problem is that we have four or five players who turn up for every training session, and those who are not regular don’t always pick up on the systems we want to use.

“I know everyone has commitments, but it can be very frustrating. If we can get that sorted out, I know we can win the league.”

Streatham go to Shooters Hill of Shepherd Neame Kent League One on Saturday in the second round of the London & SE Junior Vase.

Toussaint said: “The side will be experimental on Saturday. It’s a chance for players to stake a case for a first team spot.”