Chingford Rugby Club head coach Matt Lockwood heralded his team’s ‘outstanding’ display against Medway, after they secured promotion to the London and South East Premier Division for the first time in their history.

Despite the weather conditions, over 500 people watched on as Chingford beat Medway 21-17 in a play-off, ensuring they avoided a repeat of last year’s heart-breaking defeat to Tunbridge Wells at the same stage.

Having been pipped to top spot in the league by Brentwood, Chingford were determined to gain promotion at the second time of asking and took a commanding 16-3 lead at half-time, thanks to tries from Keith Barlow and Josh Oranu-Noah as well as two penalty kicks from Scott Meakin.

Despite a second half fight-back from Medway, Dave Banfield’s try in the 68th minute clinched Chingford’s historic victory and Lockwood was delighted to experience promotion after 14 years with the club, having failed to do so as a player.

He said: “It just shows that the club has been building over the few years and we have been fortunate enough to have a great bunch of boys who have turned up and generated success which has spread throughout, meaning that other people have seen that we are pushing and want to go places.

“Within the club, there are a lot of old boys and ladies who have been part of us for a number of years and speaking to them after the game, they’ve come away saying this is one of the greatest things they’ve ever seen in their time at Chingford.

“Off the back of last year where we lost in a similar situation, I think the boys had some nerves about that potentially happening again. It wasn’t ideal and the pitch was pretty wet. But I thought we took it to Medway early on and they struggled with our impact and our aggression and our defensive system.

“The boys managed to capitalise on some big defensive tackles and turn that into points, so we went into half-time with a pretty healthy lead. As always, you’d expect the other team to come back as they’ve got nothing to lose and they came back really strong. Fair play to Medway, but we managed to neutralise that and pick up a late try which did seal the game. It was an outstanding feeling for the club.”

A lot of effort went into getting the game on due to the weather conditions, with members of the club’s second and third teams helping to drain over two inches of standing water from the pitch.

After Saturday’s historic victory, Lockwood is now hoping to replicate the likes of Tunbridge Wells and Tring, who have both established themselves in the London and South East Premier Division after gaining promotion in recent seasons.

However, a drastic overhaul of the squad may not take place.

When asked about his targets for next season, Lockwood said: “Ultimately, staying up but also seeing the success of Tring and Tunbridge Wells gives us some hope. We played Tring away from home at their place and they were unbeaten and we were the only team that beat them last year. They’ve almost gone on to secure back-to-back promotions themselves. We’re really excited about some new challenges and playing a few different teams.

“We would love some new blood to come in because they come in with lots of fresh ideas and add that little bit of spark and edge to the boys. We would certainly look to recruit some new players but we’re not unhappy with the squad that’s going up. We feel that we have a team that is ready to be able to push in that league.”

Chingford’s Director of Rugby, Stuart Short, added: “The coaching team, who are all ex-players from Chingford System and led by Matt Lockwood, should be congratulated for their outstanding contribution.

“This success has not just happened overnight and been built by all the members, volunteers and sponsors over the last few seasons, all contributing and pulling in the same direction.”