Gravesend Rugby Club are celebrating promotion back to the National League just a year after the disappointment of relegation.

Victory at Hove on Saturday meant the Gs wrapped up the London 1 South title with a game to spare and ensured they’ll play National 3 London & South East rugby again in 2014/15.

Club captain Ashley Moorey said: "There was a bit of relief afterwards but as soon as we got out of the shower and on to the bus, it was joyous.

"We heaped pressure on ourselves to win the league and we knew we needed to work hard to get results. It’s been a long season – we started training last June as opposed to the middle of July.

"We bonded well and all worked hard. We were all aiming towards the same goal."

Gravesend battled Chichester all season for the title – beating them at home and losing away – but no-one scored more points or conceded fewer than the north Kent club.

Moorey said: "We didn’t always play to our best away from home. There were many times when we only won by a few points and didn’t get the four-try bonus point.

"That allowed Chichester to catch up with us even though they lost two or three more games than we did. But at home, we made that a bit of a fortress, only losing one game all year."