Sheppey's Luke Barker is stopped in his tracks against Beccehamanian on Saturday

Sheppey Rugby Club's 27-11 victory over Beccehamian on Saturday was soured by the loss of New Zealand import Dylan Davies with a double leg fracture.

Davies was making only his third appearance for the Island side and had been a key player in the club’s recent resurgence.

The win at The Ditch was Sheppey’s fifth from their last six Kent 1 matches – a remarkable turnaround in a season which took them eight league outings to record their first success.

Head coach Frank Davis was happy with the win but the injury to his No.8 left that achievement under a cloud.

He said: "It took a massive shine off the achievement.

"It’s part and parcel of the game, but it doesn’t matter how many years you have been involved it does take the enjoyment out. We just hope he now has a speedy recovery.

"They were clean breaks and fortunately there was no ligament damage. His leg was put back together and plated, and fingers crossed for him.

"He is quite an influential player for us and he’ll be sadly missed."

Saturday's win came a week after losing 26-23 at Ashford. It leaves Sheppey four points clear of the bottom two but, with their final four games against top five sides, Davis knows they can’t afford to become complacent.

"The mark of a good team is how you bounce back from a defeat," said Davis.

"We’re not out of it yet and there are some hard games coming up.

"We’re physically and mentally strong and every game we go into we’re looking to win and that will especially be the case against Sittingbourne on Saturday.

"Mathematically we are going to need a result somewhere along the line and I hope we don’t leave it until the last game."