Medway got their own back on Tring with a 33-26 Regional 1 South East away win on Saturday.

When the sides met in October at Priestfields Tring ran out 14-6 winners but Medway, bottom of the table, defied the odds against their hosts, who are fourth, with tries from Deji Oyesola, Alfie Orris and Dan Huntley.

The victory was only Medway's fourth of the season but skipper Tom Beaumont says it shows his side can hold their own in the division.

“We believe we can compete at this level and today we proved that," he said.

"A big thank-you to Tring for a tough game played in the right spirit. The club have been excellent hosts and we hope to see them again next season.”

On a heavy playing surface, Medway started well retaining possession and forcing Tring to defend deep in their half. Three minutes of controlled phase play saw Tring caught offside and Owen Church-Mills got the scoreboard going with a penalty.

The away side secured the restart but were caught in their 22 and penalised allowing Tring to kick to the corner for the lineout. A simple catch and drive saw them crash over for a try to lead 5-3.

Penalties for each side saw the score move to 8-6 before Medway responded when a poor clearance kick was secured by Oyesola and he crashed over for the visitors' first try of the afternoon, Church-Mills converting for a 13-8 advantage.

A penalty reduced the arrears and poor handling in midfield saw the Tring centre kick a loose ball forward with their winger chasing to fall on it and score in the corner. The conversion was missed, but the home side led by 10 points with a converted try courtesy of a well-executed backs move.

Medway got the last score of the first half, however, when some poor handling from the defending backs saw the ball go forward and Orris reacted well, kicking through and chasing it to score. Church-Mills' conversion meant Medway trailed by three points at half-time.

Church-Mills kicked his side level with another penalty and on 62 minutes Medway took the lead when a training-ground lineout move saw Huntley crash through two defenders to score. Church-Mills hit the target again and Medway had a 30-23 lead with 18 minutes left.

The teams traded penalties but Medway's defence, well marshalled by Beaumont, held firm. Even a yellow card for a deliberate knock-on did not affect them.

Medway are back in league action at home to Harpenden on February 11.