ROCHFORD Hundred suffered a shock setback on Saturday - losing 27-26 to CS Stags 1863 at Magnolia Road.

Promotion-chasing Rochford had been strong favourites to win the clash against a CS side who had lost seven of their nine outings before the weekend.

But Rochford were unable to come out on top, much to the disappointment of winger Danny Cleare.

“Obviously it’s disappointing to lose the game and it’s disappointing not to perform well but that’s sport,” said Cleare.

“You’re going to have bad days and go through bad patches.

“We just need to make sure we do everything we can this week to respond positively.

“We have Dorking away at the weekend and it doesn’t come much harder than that.

“But, despite the loss, everyone is still confident we can play ourselves back into form and get the win.”

Rochford won back-to-back promotions without losing a single game and hopes had been high of more success this season.

Chris Green’s side started the campaign strongly and made it 53 wins in succession before being defeated 31-29 at table-topping Wimbledon.

Rochford bounced back from that setback with two successive victories and they triumphed both times without conceding a single point.

However, Hundred were unable to make it three in a row - despite scoring four tries.

Ricki Gould, Harry Hudson, Will Ferrier and Adam Ferrier all touched down for Rochford while Cameron Greenhall added three conversions during an even contest.

But it was not enough to stop Rochford suffering their first home defeat since December 2016.

The setback also saw Hundred slip down to third in the table, six points behind leaders Wimbledon who have yet to lose this season, winning all 10 of their matches.

Rochford will now be looking to get back on track when they travel to sixth-placed Dorking this weekend.

Rochford Hundred: Brambley, W Ferrier, Billings, Martin, Cleare, Greenhall, Gould, Bailey, A Ferrier, Bevans-Royston, Mills, Douglas, Fombo, Strachan, Hudson Replacements: Guess, Tunde & Roters