Medway 44 Chichester 12: London 1 South match report

Much-changed Medway had to battle hard for maximum points in London Division 1 South against Chichester on Saturday.

Both teams had to make late changes to their squad and the game was in the balance for an hour before Medway powered through to victory.

Coach Taff Gwilliam said: "We are delighted with the win, especially with so many changes in the side. We always have tough games against Chichester and for an hour this game could have gone either way. We stuck to our plan and the boys were rewarded with a fine victory.

"The younger players like Max Bullock, John Sipawa, Jack Nickalls, Michael Fankah and Maik Timmerman are improving and we are creating some genuine depth in our squad."

Medway took a sixth-minute lead when stand-in full-back Alfie Orris broke through the visitors' kick chase line. He linked with Jordan Stubbington and Lewis Stimpson who exchanged passes for Stubbington to score the opening try.

With the wind at their backs, Chichester replied with a try of their own, the conversion giving them a 7-5 advantage.

The rest of the half was about Medway looking to deny Chichester the possession that they needed to make full use of the windy conditions.

Medway’s reward for playing with patience and control into the wind was rewarded after 24 minutes. Numerous phases and short carries disrupted and narrowed the visitors' defence and good attacking width saw Dan Harvey eventually score an unconverted try in the corner to give Medway a 10-7 half-time lead.

The second half kicked off with the wind at Medway’s back and there was an air of expectancy but Chichester were not about to simply roll over. The visitors took the game to Medway and it initially proved an even affair. On 52 minutes, Medway lock Stubbington was