Maidstone suffered a 45-3 London 1 South defeat at Chichester on Saturday.

It started badly, with the late arrival of debutant scrum-half Sean Walker, and got steadily worse - five tries were conceded in the final 20 minutes.

Maidstone trailed 12-3 at half-time, Peter Horne’s penalty putting their first points on the board. Walker came on for the second half as New Zealander Ryan Mills switched to fly-half with the team looking to improve.

A forward drive over the line increased the home side’s lead and Maidstone faded under a late barrage, the home kicker stretching the advantage with several conversions.

Aylesford Bulls suffered a sixth successive London 1 South defeat, beaten 30-13 at home by Beckenham.

They led 3-0 early on but trailed 12-3 at half-time. A second penalty reduced the arrears soon after the restart but Beckenham eased 27-6 ahead.

A converted try by the Bulls, in their best move of the game, brought them back to 27-13, before the visitors added another penalty.

On Saturday, Maidstone are at home against Chobham, while Aylesford visit Gravesend.