WESTCLIFF brushed aside a nightmare journey to triumph 50-8 at Sutton & Epsom in the London & SE Premier Division.

Kick-off had to be put back 75 minutes after Westcliff took more than four hours to reach their destination.

But, despite having little warm-up, Westcliff still produced a dominant display.

And director of rugby Rick Compton was delighted with the performance.

Compton said: “Given the circumstances, the performance was very pleasing.

“In fact, it was pleasing in any circumstances.

“We played well and took a firm grip on the game.

“We were solid in defence, creative in attack and frequently ruthless in execution.

“We scored some very good tries and were fractions away at times from scoring some even better ones.

“Everyone contributed and the lads with less experience once more demonstrated they have the ability to step up and take their chance.

“Competition is at a high and selection is a long way from straight forward.

“It’s a happy place to be.”

Despite the final scoreline, it was Sutton & Epsom who started on the front foot, but their efforts were repelled by a determined Westcliff defence and soon the visitors began to assert themselves.

That resulted in Buster Reynolds touching down for a try before Olly Jones scored the first of what would prove to be four tries.

Sutton hit back with a penalty but Westcliff delivered a decisive blow on the stroke of half-time when, from a turnover set-piece ball, Jim Smith and Jake Spivey combined to create a try for Ross Merrick.

After the break, fifth-placed Westcliff were in devastating form and scored three tries in the space of 15 minutes.

The first two came from Jones to complete his hat-trick before the increasingly impressive Alex Hatton also touched down to make it 38-3.

Moments later, both sides had a player sent to the sin bin, with James Scogings heading off for Westcliff.

But, in the final few minutes, Westcliff continued to turn the screw and a try from Spivey, which was followed by a fourth for Jones, secured a convincing win despite a consolation try from the hosts.

Westcliff: S Brown, O Jones, Stol, R Smith, Merrick, J Jones, Spivey, Weston, Macintyre, Binneman, Webster, Edwards, Hopkins, Hatton, Vandermolen Replacements: J Smith, Scogings & Reynolds