Eton Manor’s unbeaten record was undone by injuries and ill-discipline as the side went down to a 43-12 defeat to second-placed Sudbury.

The home side controlled play from early on and after only eight minutes Manor found themselves 12-0 down, following two tries, one converted.

The visitors worked their way into the game and enjoyed a period of pressure inside Sudbury’s 22, which resulted in a try from the returning John Berry.

But shortly after, an injury saw Manor centre Aaron Lowe replaced by Freddie Harries, making his second appearance after a protracted injury.

Harries himself was on the pitch for just a few minutes before being tackled to the ground, accompanied by a yell of pain and a loud crack.

Play was immediately halted and the game was suspended for 40 minutes as Harries was tended to and ultimately taken to hospital with a double leg fracture.

With no recognised back available, Manor’s Chettleburgh joined the backline from the scrum, with Babajidi Tunde coming off the bench into the pack to see out the last nine minutes of the half.

The second half saw Manor lose another player to injury when Brad Burrell was replaced with George Cosma.

Despite this, 15 minutes into the half Luke Watson put Manor level at 12-12, sprinting past defenders from 35 metres out and going over the line between the posts.

But Sudbury soon hit back with a converted try and things went from bad to worse as Manors’ inexperienced backline conceded from a mistake before losing Dall’amico and Sullivan to the bin.

With Manor down to 13 players Sudbury soon added to their tally again to lead 38-12 with 10 minutes to go.

After Chettleburgh saw red for catching a Sudbury player in the head during a ruck, 12-man Manor managed to restrict Sudbury to one further try, with the game ending 43-12.

Manor's Director of Rugby Mark Farrell said it would be “naive” to expect an unbeaten campaign.

He added: “With only three subs, injuries can derail a side very quickly and we saw that today.

“Despite our heavy loss, I was glad to see that we stuck together throughout and after the game, it clearly showed that this squad is strong in its conviction and united in its determination."