Sutton & Epsom coach Jeff Parsons is not one for pointing the finger at the referee, but after a tight 18-17 defeat against Old Alleynians on Saturday, he is willing to break that self-imposed  rule.

Tries from Ian Knott and Jak Martin, and eight points off Steve Warnham’s boot were not good enough against Old Alleynians.

With no match this weekend, Parsons is giving his injuried ravaged side time off to recuperate after back-to-back defeats in London Division Two South West.

Parsons said: “The defeat to KCS Old Boys the week before was deserved, but we were unlucky against OAs.

“The referee gave two soft yellow cards to us within two minutes of each other so we were down to 13 men.

“OAs pushed over the line but one of our lads whipped the ball out of their hands before it was put to ground and everyone fell on top of him.

“The referee awarded the try but when everyone got up, he realised the mistake he had made, but it was too late then.

“That decision won them the game. We have to live with that. We will come back fighting.”

In the meantime, Parsons knows full well why, after winning the first five games of the season, his side have lost two on the bounce.

He said: “It is the same old story. We have a huge injury list and we never know who will be able to play and who we will up against in terms of strength of opposition.

“Any team can beat any other team in this division, it is that tight. We have not played every team yet and I don’t think you can honestly get a true feel of how the land lies until at least Christmas.

“Let’s see where we are then and we’ll know more about ourselves."

He added: “I was never going to get carried away with our great start, I’ve been in the game too long to do that.

“I am hoping this break will give the players a break from the game and give them chance to recuperate.

“Hopefully we can start afresh when we come back.”