ROCHFORD Hundred moved to the top of the London & SE Premier Division table with a 19-13 win at promotion rivals Guersney.

Rochford’s hosts started the clash in pole position.

But Rochford - who are chasing a third successive promotion - ground out a vital victory, much to the delight of try scorer Sonny Gay.

“Going over there to a team who haven’t lost at home yet and sitting on top of the league was massive,” said Gay.

“The win puts the league back into our hands now so we have to be on top of our game from here on out to not slip up.”

Rochford now sit two points clear of Guernsey.

And Gay was delighted with their latest display.

“We played very well,” said Gay.

“The boys had to really dig in in the first half to defend as Guernsey had a big wind on their backs.

“They put a lot of pressure on us but we scrambled well and held out.

“The little chances we had in the first half we took good advantage of too and came away with points.

“In the second half we applied a lot of pressure and they were crumbling which led to a couple more tries.

“But we got a bit sloppy towards the end, conceding a lot of penalties and with two yellow cards they got two late tries to make the scoreline look a bit better for them as they also stole a point.”

And Gay was also happy to play his part with his first try of the season.

“I’m always happy to score as I don’t play much so touching down on my first touch of the game was good for me,” said Gay.

“Hopefully now the rest of the season stays the same as we have started this new year and we stay on top of the league.

“Hopefully I can get a few more games in and try catch Harry (Hudson) on the try scoring list.”

Skipper Hudson was again among the try scorers on Saturday and he was also thrilled with the victory.

“The win was obviously massively important,” said Hudson.

“We have put ourselves in a very good place for the remainder of the season.

“Our defence was the best it’s been all year, albeit they scored two late ones when we were down to 13 men and the game was over.

“But the set piece functioned really well and our attack was good in patches although we got a little predictable which was my fault.”

However, Hudson is not getting too excited at this stage.

“It’s important that we are on top for all the obvious reasons but we have lost to teams that we probably took too lightly so it doesn’t mean anything yet,” said Hudson.

“I think it’s well deserved so far but there’s still a long way to go and lots of matches.”

Rochford Hundred: Billings, W Ferrier, Dudman, Hudson, Brambley, Greenhall, Gould, Bailey, A Ferrier, Bevans-Royston, Shields, Fombo, Duaibe, Strachan, Kellard. Replacements: Brunger, Arnott & Gay