WESTCLIFF moved up to ninth in the National Three London & SE standings with a 25-11 win against Guildford.

The victory ended a run of three successive defeats and pleased the club’s director of rugby Rick Compton.

“It was an important result and a very welcome five points in the context of our season and our objectives for it,” said Compton.

“The way we played was very pleasing apart from some very careless moments in the few minutes either side of half time.

“A solid set piece all afternoon, a lot of patience in both defence and attack and as ever total commitment from the lads on the park were the foundations of a deserved victory that gets us back on track for the final phase of the season.

“Next week we will face a different challenge when we visit a Colchester side who are testing the best and are sure to well backed by an enthusiastic home crowd.”

Westcliff attacked from the start at the weekend and established an early foot hold in Guildford territory.

Intense pressure and patience on the visitors’ line allowed Ewan Binneman to crash over from short range after just three minutes.

Moments later, Jack Jones added a penalty before Westcliff extended their lead to 13-0 on the half hour when Charlie Jobling also forced his way over the line.

Again the conversion was missed but the sense was that the hosts were in charge.

However, as the half drew to a close that control slipped and Guildford dragged themselves right back into the contest.

Firstly, in the 39th minute, a knock on advantage was aimlessly kicked away and the visitors were able to break the line.

A penalty was forced directly in front of the posts and the lead reduced to 13-3.

And as the half entered time added on for injuries another kick was charged down and fly hacked ahead.

The Guildford 10 won the foot race and scored the try and, from nowhere, a healthy 13-0 lead as the interval approached had evaporated and Westcliff led only 13-8 at the break.

The next score was going to be important but Westcliff started the second half as they had finished the first by conceding another penalty after two minutes and the scores closed to 13-11.

Suddenly Westcliff were faced with a problem much of their own making but which had handed momentum to Guildford and they needed to respond.

To their credit the hosts shrugged off the setbacks and reapplied themselves to the task of winning the game.

With the set piece functioning well they reasserted themselves and began again to control possession and territory.

As a result, a try by Jack Hopkins was quickly followed by one from James Scoggings to seal a very welcome win.

Westcliff: Dudman, Reynolds, Tupola, Rudd, Merrick, Jones, Branch, Brown, Hopkins, Binneman, Dartnell, Edwards, Vandermolen, Jobling, Maloney.

Replacements: Lane, Scoggings & Marsh