High Wycombe survived a second half fight back to chalk up their eighth consecutive league win with a 28-21 success against high-flying Thatcham.

Mark Barry’s men raced into a 21-0 lead at half-time but were left hanging on towards the end as their opponents, who’d lost just once in their previous eight matches, came storming back.

The victory took Wycombe to the top of the Southern Counties North table, but it was a game which left head coach Barry with mixed emotions following his side’s second half display.

He said: “Before the game I would have taken that result. A bonus point win against the team third in the league would have been a fantastic result.

“But, as I said to the boys, it’s a bit disappointing having been 21-0 up at half-time to let them back into the game so that was a bit disappointing. I can’t say too much because we’re top of the league.

“With a bonus point win we go top of the league and it’s been a great achievement so far. There’s a long way to go but, so far, it’s been a fantastic achievement.”

Coach Barry felt his side should have seen the game out better having dominated the contest, and he cited a lack of concentration as a possible explanation for the Thatcham revival.

“We were in complete control of the game and I think maybe that might have relaxed everyone’s attitudes a bit. They’re a very, very good team there’s no denying it.

“They’re fourth in the league and they deserve to be there. They were always going to come back at us it was just disappointing that we gave them opportunities to come back rather than killing the game off.”

The Wycombe boss also feels there is more to come from his team – despite them having racked up a remarkable eight league wins in a row.

“There’s been some great performances but with little errors here and there and things to work on. We’re nowhere near the finished article.

“I’m not sure where we’ll end up at the end of the league season but we’re going to give it everything we’ve got to perform to our best. It’s these little errors that seep into our game that will cause us problems at some point.”

Barry and his squad will now set their sights on Saturday’s clash against 11th place Milton Keynes as they look to stretch their advantage at the top with win number nine.

“The run then looks after itself. The law of probability is that we’re going to slip up at some point but we’re not looking at that either.

“We just go into the next game, try to win over 80 minutes of rugby and do the same the next week. It’s amazing that we’ve gone this far but it’s not surprising.”