ROCHFORD Hundred kicked off the season with an impressive 37-31 victory at Old Northamptonians.

Rochford are looking to bounce back from relegation from National League Two East.

And Chris Dudman was delighted to kick off the campaign with a hard-fought win on the road.

“The team and myself were really happy to get the season started with a bonus point win on Saturday,” said Dudman, who skippered the side.

“Old Northamptonians had some decent backs who certainly put us under pressure at times but overall we dealt with things really well and we certainly played better than we had in pre season.”

Dudman also helped that happen by scoring a rare try.

And he was delighted to improve his points tally.

“It was good to get on the score sheet at the weekend,” said Dudman, who lined up on the wing.

“I probably have one of the lowest strike rates in the country for scoring tries, so I’ll take them when I can.”

Seth Mokuolu, Ewan Richmond and Harry Phelps-Knight also scored tries for Rochford at the weekend.

But Dudman is not setting any targets for the season ahead just yet.

“It’s hard to tell at the moment,” said Dudman.

“For sure there will be some decent sides in the league who will be very competitive.

“We will just have to take each game week by week and prepare as best as we can.”

And that will be the aim when Tring visit Magnolia Road this weekend.

“We’ve played Tring on a few occasions in the past,” said Dudman.

“They are a half decent side and it will definitely be a competitive game.

“We just have to keep fine tuning certain areas in our game and hopefully things will fall into place.”