An under-powered Old Streetonians paid for a lack of competitiveness at the set piece away at Grasshoppers as the basement boys left west London on the back of a heavy 56-12 defeat.

An entirely new tight five lost their first six lineouts and Grasshoppers dominated possession in the first half, exploiting defensive weaknesses out wide to run in several unanswered scores.

Old Street improved after the break and good work around the fringes from the pack, particularly openside Harry Marson, built pressure – and after some good offloading work by Kaf Adjogatse and Paul McGarrity, number eight Liam McInerney went over from short range in the corner.

Hooker Will Gilgrass also crossed the whitewash after good footwork by Tom Winter and Andy Dunn, but Grasshoppers finished on top, adding further tries towards the end.

Despite the one-sided scoreline, captain Marson said the players remain confident they can pick up a win against fellow strugglers Finchley in Saturday’s basement battle.

“There were a lot of positives there,” he said. “We were always going to struggle with basically no lineout and a below-par scrum, but we showed some good stuff in open play and, with some returning players available, we’re confident about facing Finchley.”

The second XV did manage to give the club some cheer, getting their first victory of the season away against Wasps’ second string.

Two tries and 11 points from the boot of stand-in fly-half Alain Tolhurst helped the Onians to beat a physical home side 27-20, despite having to play most of the game with 14 men and the final 20 minutes with just 12 thanks to a succession of injuries.

Old Street’s third team were also on the road, but an under-strength side were put to the sword by Old Actonians’ second XV, losing 55-0.

Hackney were also defeated in London Division Three North-West, going down 19-10 away at Welwyn, leaving them sixth in the table.

Their second team were triumphant though, earning an 18-15 home win over Fullerians’ second side thanks to tries from Rhys Johnson, Rhodri Johnson and Dan Worth.