Mersea Island 21, Wymondham 24

RUGBY: Wymondham took a giant step towards safety in London 3NE when they recorded a hard-fought victory at bottom side Mersea Island.

The Red and Blacks generally had the upper hand against determined opposition, and had pulled away to lead 24-7 in the second half.

Two tries from Alex Brugger and another from Chris Brown, all of which were converted by Steve Simms, had appeared to put Wymondham in an unassailable position, but Mersea then turned up the heat by reducing the deficit to just three points.

That might have rattled lesser sides but Wymondham, who had lost Andrew Nelson with a shoulder injury, saw out the game and were even going for a bonus point in the closing stages.

Wymondham were hoping the result would ensure their safety but with some other results going against them they still need to win their final match of the season, at home to Newmarket in a fortnight's time, to be absolutely certain of avoiding the drop.

The chances are they will be safe whatever happens — but no-one at the club wants to leave anything to chance.

At the weekend Wymondham have a Norfolk Cup semi-final against either West Norfolk or North Walsham to look forward to.