Sevenoaks: 17

Warlingham: 9

SEVENOAKS Rugby Club's 17-9 win over Warlingham saw them leapfrog the visitors into third spot in London 2 South East as Tim Golds' side continue their promotion push.

Two tries from Simon Tree, and two conversions and a penalty from Matt Bates, delighted the crowd at Knole Paddock and puts Sevenoaks just three points behind second placed Hove, who visit on December 19.

"It was a solid performance," captain Tim Golds reflected. "We were good up front and again, were strong at the set piece. Our defence was outstanding, that is the third league game without conceding a try."

Right from the referee's whistle, Sevenoaks signalled their appetite to win this critical league game by immediately piling on the pressure.

Within two minutes, Oaks' swift recycling of the ball gave the back line some space and Tree went over for the first of his tries, Bates converting.

Sevenoaks had the majority of possession and territory, and always looked dangerous, but after they missed a penalty attempt Warlingham's centre Joe Chivers got his side on the scoreboard with a penalty for offside.

A Sevenoaks player was yellow-carded for 'unnecessary retaliation after a tackle' but, even with the one man advantage, Warlingham were unable to break out of their own half and Sevenoaks stretched their lead with a Bates penalty for offside.

Although Warlingham tried to break free from the home side's strangle-hold, they never looked like breaking the stout Sevenoaks defence, who have not leaked a try in their past three league games.

Oaks stretched the visitors back line, once again, and Tree slipped over for the second try, Bates adding the difficult conversion.

Just before the half-time whistle, and against the run of play, Chivers added a second penalty for Warlingham. It was more of the same after the break, with Sevenoaks being quicker to the breakdown and more effective in recycling the ball.

A third penalty from Chivers was the only score in the second half, despite some spirited forward play from the Warlingham pack.

The away side made a number of forays into the Sevenoaks 22, but were snuffed out by Oaks' tough defence. An outstanding tackle in the dying minutes by Jon Pollock highlighted the home team's pride in defence.

Sevenoaks winger James Garcia was hauled down within inches of the Warlingham line in the final minutes as the home side threatened to score again, which would have put the gloss on a fine performance.

Next up for Oaks is a trip to Old Dunstonians on Saturday, and Golds is keen for his side to continue their winning ways, they are bidding for a fifth successive triumph.

"You never know what you are going to get from them," he said. "We just want to keep the ball rolling with another win and are concentrating on this week's match.

"We can't get complacent, every team in this league is dangerous. We just need to focus on our game, enjoy our rugby and keep working hard.

"The next couple of weeks will be very exciting for the club."