A NEW-LOOK Bracknell RFC suffered a disappointing start to their National Three London & South East season as they were beaten 16-6 at home to Westcombe Park.

The injury curse which seem to be hitting the club continued as No. 8 Michael Clarke pulled up in the warm-up, meaning coach Rory Greenslade-Jones had to shuffle his pack at the last minute.

He sent out a side containing 11 changes from the previous league game against Old Centralians at the end of last season, with full back Liam Hemming , centre Daniel Faamatuainu, fly half Lewis Dennett, prop Tom Williams (Prop), locks Lachlan Valentine and Josh Kroman, and flanker Tom Devereux all handed competitive debuts.

The first half was dominated by the defence of both sides, neither side being able to take advantage of any possession as a brace of penalties from Westcombe's James Cameron gave his side a 6-3 lead, Hemming slotting one for the hosts.

Bracknell were reduced to 13 men either side of the interval as Ian Burch was yellow carded for a deliberate knock-on and Dennett followed after the break, with Cameron's third penalty following the second transgression.

However, the Lily Hill Men rallied and another Hemming penalty cut the gap to 9-6, only for the visitors to score the only try of the game on 54 minutes.

A smart move down the back line allowed centre Ant Hitchcock to score in the corner, and Cameron's excellent touchline conversion made it 16-6 to Park.

With Bracknell exerting some pressure, what appeared to be a carbon copy of Burch's sin binning went unpunished, leaving the Bracknell crowd somewhat confused and frustrated.

And their disappointment was compounded as the visitors held on for an opening day victory.

Bracknell face a tricky away fixture at Shelford next Saturday (3pm).