ROCHFORD Hundred surged back to winning ways with a 27-18 victory against local rivals Westcliff.

The derby day triumph saw Rochford end a run of seven successive defeats.

And Hundred’s head coach Danny Cleare was delighted to get back on track in front of a bumper crowd at Magnolia Road.

“Saturday was a great day for the club and a result that we really needed,” said Cleare.

“I was told there was approximately 800 people watching which is great for the club and it seemed many stayed afterwards to party and enjoy the occasion.”

The victory saw second from bottom Rochford move six points clear of Westcliff, who are immediately below them in the table.

But Cleare felt the first half was more even than the second.

“The game was a funny one really,” said Cleare.

“I felt the first half was probably more even.

“I would say we were the team slightly more on top, but we were also our own worst enemy at times getting two silly yellow cards.

“It was when we were down to 14 men that Westcliff really threatened, and during this time, they scored two good tries and took their chances when they came along.”

The two teams were tied at 10-10 at the break.

But it was Rochford who had the better of the second half.

“We were still down a player to start with but we came out the blocks and started to assert ourselves,” said Cleare.

“We scored a further two tries for the bonus point but we left more out there in all honesty.

“But it was a massive improvement from recent weeks and to finish the year with a good win was important.”

The victory also saw Rochford complete the double over Westcliff.

And Cleare thought his side muscled their way to the victory.

“I think the game was won through our physicality,” said Cleare.

“You could tell lads were really pumped for this game and Craig Strachan was slotting players for fun.

“He really set the tone in defence, Josh Cavey was also running over players in attack and this just gave us constant momentum all game.”

Rochford will now head into the Christmas break on a high before returning to action with two more important matches at the start of January.

“Before Saturday we identified our next three games as being huge as we have Westcliff, Hertford, and Bedford,” said Cleare.

“They are the three teams all next to us in the league so we need to ensure we kick on from this performance and back it up in January.”