ROCHFORD Hundred secured their third win in four games on Saturday, beating Epping Upper Clapton 34-12 at Magnolia Road.

The victory moved Rochford up to ninth in the London Two North East table and delighted their director of rugby Michael Guess.

“The win was great and it was just nice to see the boys enjoying themselves out there,” said Guess.

“It was a good performance and we didn’t really let Epping get into their game which gave us a good platform to play.

“There are always a couple of little things to work on but there’s nothing major this week and we’re all really pleased.”

The victory saw Rochford bounce back from last weekend’s narrow defeat at Norwich.

And Guess believes his new look side are now starting to gel.

“The season so far has been a mixed bag really, we picked up a lot of injuries after the first game against Diss and a couple other players had been away, but we have started to get the full squad back the last few weeks,” said the prop forward.

“The boys are working hard in training and it’s just great to see things are starting to come together.

“We have a young squad and it’s just about them finding their new identity as a team and it’s starting to show now on and off the field too.”

Rochford will now be looking to build on their success against high-flying local rivals South Woodham Ferrers this weekend.

But Guess is refusing to look too far ahead.

“We’re taking one game at a time,” said Guess.

“You always want to build on a win because each week you set out to win the game and that’s what we will be looking to do this weekend.

“Things are starting to come together now, so any team in this league is beatable and we might just have a little say in those teams aiming for promotion come the end of the season.”

Rochford went in front at the weekend when second row Scott Horsburgh was driven over the line by his pack and Matt Stewart added the conversion.

Moments later, Steven Jay also ran in for an excellent try which was also converted by Stewart to put Rochford 14-0 ahead at half-time.

After the break, a try from centre Marcus Spremulli, which was converted by Stewart, made it 21-0 before Epping Upper Clapton began to fight back and scored a converted try of their own.

Another try then cut Rochford’s lead to 21-12 before Spremulli’s second try of the game put Hundred back in control before Stewart added two penalties to seal the victory.

Rochford Hundred: Guess, Hughes, Wiseman, Horsburgh, Bacon, Corbet, Grier, Whight, Jay, Stewart, Marshall, Spremulli, De Bellefontaine, Baker, Billings. Replacements: Bevan, Warner & White