National League 3 London & SE Bury St Edmunds 72 Chichester 0 Top-of the-league Bury guaranteed themselves at least a play-off spot with a resounding win over Chichester.

The rampant West Suffolk side will go up as champions if they can beat nearest rivals Barnes away from home a week on Saturday.

Were they to do so, they would make Suffolk rugby history - no side from the county has ever played in National League 2, the fourth tier of rugby nationally.

On Saturday, buoyed by a superb performance at Grinstead the previous week and backed by a large and vocal crowd, Bury set their stall out from the first minute spreading the ball wide from the kick off and causing panic in the visitors’ defence.

There was to be no stopping Bury and despite the loss of prop Loma Kivalu in the 3rd minute to a late hit, they went on to score 11 unanswered tries.

Scrum-half James Stevenson-Wright got the ball rolling in the fifth minute when he scored a poacher’s try from a quickly taken penalty after the forwards had driven up to the line.

A strong head wind hampered Tom Bird’s kicking and he was to land only two from five in the first half.

But it was not long before Bury were up to the try line again and when the threequarters were stopped just short, prop forward Luke Beales barrelled his way over.

The mid-point of the half saw probably the score of the day. Fly-half Jesse Rush began the move, making the initial break. Players flooded through behind the attacker and as the ball was transferred through several pairs of hands, the defenders finally ran out leaving Stevenson-Wright and Beau Gibson facing just one lone Chichester player.

The former dummied to the latter and coasted home - it was 17–0 after 24 minutes!

Only five minutes later, Tim Mann went over to secure the bonus point. Young Bury prop Connor Adams was driven over by his fellow forwards for another score, making it 29-0 at half-time.

Sam Bixby got the first of six second half tries as Bury recycled the ball over and over again until the defenders ran out.

Bury were dominant in all areas of the match, the only area where Chichester had any parity was the line out but beyond that they were a broken team. Gibson rumbled over for a deserved score and then Bury scored another exhilarating try

Bury’s work at the break down was superb and the way they cleared out players was creating continual quick ball for the half backs.

Rush, on the end of one such attacking ball slid the ball beautifully back inside to Sam Bixby on a fabulous angle.

The flanker arced his way towards the posts before throwing a wonderful long flat pass to Mike Sage for a glorious canter in by the grandstand.

George Norris powered over from close range before Bixby made it a brace when he was home alone on the right wing.

Tim Mann added his second to finish the scoring and a fine day for Bury.