Medway’s fourth consecutive home game in Regional 2 South East ended with a 26-12 win over lowly Thurrock and moved them up to second in the standings.

Despite the big gap in the table, the basement side took an early lead with an unconverted try shortly after a lineout.

Medway soon picked up the pace, Conor Chalmers finding a gap in the 22 and running through. John Sipawa tried to offload the ball a phase later but a Thurrock player got a hand to it, conceding a penalty for a deliberate knock-on.

The visitors put up a strong fight but conceded several penalties and the hosts drew level in the 23rd minute. Mikey Grice got the ball from a scrum and passed it to captain Antony Clement who found Max Bullock. Bullock then battled through four players but went down before the try line - only for Sipawa to crash over.

Ten minutes later Medway were on the scoreboard again. After some fine passes across the backs, two Thurrock players took Sipawa down but Chalmers picked up the ball, darted around the opposition and over the line. Jamie Ford converted for a 12-5 half-time lead.

Medway’s third try came from man-of-the-match Jordan Stubbington just two minutes into the second half. Dan Jackson picked up the ball from a lineout but was tackled just short of the whitewash. Stubbington, though, reacted well to finish the move off and another successful conversion from Ford made it 19-5.

The final try for the hosts came from Harry Gibbons, who was set up by Ford after Medway played the advantage from a knock-on.

Thurrock had the last word, going under the posts after several phases, but Medway’s win leaves them six points behind leaders Beckenham.

Next up for Medway is a trip to fifth-placed Reeds Weybridge on March 1.