Much-changed Medway had to battle hard for maximum points in London Division 1 South against Chichester on Saturday.

Both teams had to make late changes to their squad and the game was in the balance for an hour before Medway powered through to victory.

Coach Taff Gwilliam said: "We are delighted with the win, especially with so many changes in the side. We always have tough games against Chichester and for an hour this game could have gone either way. We stuck to our plan and the boys were rewarded with a fine victory.

"The younger players like Max Bullock, John Sipawa, Jack Nickalls, Michael Fankah and Maik Timmerman are improving and we are creating some genuine depth in our squad."

Medway took a sixth-minute lead when stand-in full-back Alfie Orris broke through the visitors' kick chase line. He linked with Jordan Stubbington and Lewis Stimpson who exchanged passes for Stubbington to score the opening try.

With the wind at their backs, Chichester replied with a try of their own, the conversion giving them a 7-5 advantage.

The rest of the half was about Medway looking to deny Chichester the possession that they needed to make full use of the windy conditions.

Medway’s reward for playing with patience and control into the wind was rewarded after 24 minutes. Numerous phases and short carries disrupted and narrowed the visitors' defence and good attacking width saw Dan Harvey eventually score an unconverted try in the corner to give Medway a 10-7 half-time lead.

The second half kicked off with the wind at Medway’s back and there was an air of expectancy but Chichester were not about to simply roll over. The visitors took the game to Medway and it initially proved an even affair. On 52 minutes, Medway lock Stubbington was yellow carded and Chichester attacked the Medway line but stout goalline defence prevented the score.

A Harvey penalty on 55 minutes, just inside the Chichester half, for offside saw 14-man Medway increase their lead - kicking the penalty rather than going for field position showed how tight the match was at that point.

With an hour of the game gone and just a single score separating the two teams, this looked to be a winnable game for the visitors.

But from a Chichester line-out on the halfway line, the ball was overthrown and Harvey gathered the loose ball for Medway. He got in behind the Chichester defence, offloading to Max Easton in support before quick ruck ball saw Maik Timmerman carry off a short Petch pass.

Again quick ruck ball then saw Sam Garofalo, Harvey and Clement combine to create the space for Orris to score under the posts. Harvey converted and Medway were ahead 20-7.

This score opened the game up. Chichester had been playing well but it was Medway who were now starting to dominate.

On 67 minutes, Tom Beaumont and Michael Fankah stole the visitors' ball and combined to set up a ruck inside the Chichester half. The backs moved the ball wide and Orris finished in the corner to secure the Medway try bonus point.

From the re-start Medway inexplicably conceded back-to-back penalties and Chichester made the most of it, scoring an unconverted try from short range to make it 25-12.

Medway bounced back as Sean Marriott stole possession from Chichester. Billy Humphrey, on for the impressive Sandison, drove deep to the visitors line and Garofalo fed Max Bullock who powered over from short range. Dan Harvey converted to make it 32-12.

Straight from the kick-off, Easton took the ball in the air under pressure and fed Bullock on Medway’s 10-metre line. Bullock got on the outside of his marker, broke away from the cover and stepped inside the full-back to score a fine individual try under the posts.

The final score of the game was a well-worked line-out which saw Humphrey and Easton combine for Stubbington to score an unconverted try.

Medway travel to an improved Battersea Ironside team looking to maintain their push for promotion this Saturday.