WORTHING coach Tim McKew issued his side with a stern wake-up call ahead of three make or break weeks in the title race.

McKew saw his side blast fast-fading Dartfordians with five tries in the first 22 minutes to keep their dreams of top spot in rugby's London League Division 3 SE very much alive.

But Worthing then freewheeled to a 41-17 success and their coach declared: "The players have got to have more pride in themselves.

"We played our best rugby of the season to go 31-0 up, but then we got complacent and gifted them their points with poor tackling.

"I was angry because I wanted to run up a big score.

"Of course I would have settled for 41-17 before kick-off but, after getting those early points, we didn't show enough pride in our performance."

Flanker Paul Cox grabbed two early tries.

Skipper Mike Imrie and lock Mark Skrypec touched down once in either half and wing Mark Weston weaved between two slack tackles to round off a searing backs move.

Andy Ashwin added three conversions.

Worthing face a four-pointer at home to Brighton at the end of the month but Ian Watkins' side must first tackle Cranbrook in what should be a cracker at Waterhall on Saturday.

Three tries in the last ten minutes saw the unbeaten leaders past battling Chichester 24-0 in Oaklands Park and delighted coach Watkins.

He admitted: "We were a bit rusty in the backs, but our hard work over the Christmas break paid off because our fitness made the difference.

"And of course we had our supersub there to finish the job for us."

The man in question was replacement hooker Mark Jenkins, who was delighted to come on and touch down twice after powerful forward drives.

Julian Hutchens also pounced down the blindside to add to a nicely-worked first-half score for wing Micky Poole, his 11th of the season.

Conrad Burke kicked two conversions.

Cranbrook meanwhile tuned up for the trip to Sussex by thumping lowly Medway 88-11.

The latest indications from the Sussex RFU are that as many as five sides could retain their Division Three status when the leagues are re-structured in the summer.

The county stress these are only guidelines and that nothing is yet set in stone, but Crawley's 27-3 win at Beccehamians enhances their chances of making the cut.

Steve O'Reilly's fifth minute penalty saw him win the race to 100 points among regional league players with Sussex clubs.

Richard Billings, Paul Jones, Paul Sparks and Guy Young added tries, with O'Reilly converting two.

Eastbourne may also squeeze in, but they were mightily relieved to hear referee Alistair Cumming blow the final whistle for a gruelling 17-13 victory at Folkestone.

Mr Cumming's last blast came with Folkestone's formidable pack flexing their muscles for a scrummage on the Eastbourne line.

Eastbourne would never have been in such a scrape had they managed to turn possession into points.

The outstanding Colin Watts and wing Matt Bremer scored tries, with Joel Craven and Jamie Bremer adding the extras for a

14-5 half-time cushion.

The hosts narrowed the gap to a single point before Craven's 60th minute penalty gave them just too much to do in the closing stages.

East Grinstead's injuries are clearing up and their 25-15 home win over Heathfield could be the start of a revival over the next three months.

Gs' lighter pack stood well in the set scrum and a late Ray Hennessy score completed the win.

Hennessy also forced a penalty try when he was impeded by Levi Willis.

Ricky Lake grabbed a try with Justin Looney kicking ten points to see him past the 100 mark. Rick Ure and Willis replied and Richard Mills added a conversion and penalty.

Horsham's woes continued as they lost 64-7 at Sidcup.

Big Lloyd Giecco scored their try, converted by John Macfarlane.

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