Chingford kept up the pressure on London One North league leaders Brentwood with a 31-24 defeat of Ruislip on Saturday.

It could not be closer at the summit of the table with the two sides tied on 80 points each and Wood sitting top by virtue of their superior points difference alone.

Ruislip came into the game on the back of a run of just one win in four league outings, but proved to be a stubborn opponent for title-chasing Chingford.

The visitor’s ambitions of bouncing back from a 13-12 loss to Colchester the previous week were dented as early as the 15th minute when Steven Piper was shown a yellow card.

Chingford absorbed the loss well, however, and Ben Bolton-Smith soon had them on the scoreboard with the first try of the afternoon.

His try was added to by Andy Gray before the break as the game remained finely balanced heading into the second half.

Dave Banfield added a brace of scores after the interval and the boot of Scott Meakin helped keep Chingford in the ascendency until the close of play.

They will look to build on the win when they take on mid-table Fullerians in their next outing on Saturday.

That game is followed by a testing trip to third-place Amersham & Chiltern on January 17.

In the same division, Eton Manor proved to strong for basement side South Woodham Ferrers as they ran in 17 points without reply on the road.

Woodham have shipped 713 points this season and Manor may have expected to have come out as more convincing winners.

Regardless, they will be pleased with a result which leaves them fifth in the table after a run of three wins on the spin.

They are nine points adrift of fourth-place Colchester, but will look to take advantage of a game in hand and close the gap.

Epping Upper Clapton were no match for London Two North East rivals Norwich as they were comfortably beaten 54-10.

The hosts put on a display befitting of a side occupying fourth spot in the table and were good value for a win which rarely looked in doubt.

Defeat saw Romford & Gidea Park move four points ahead of Epping, who sit seventh after 15 games this season.

Their campaign continues with a visit to Chelmsford on Saturday.

Woodford’s mini revival carried on with a second win in three games with a 26-19 defeat of Cantabrigian.

The success sees Woodford climb to 10thin the table ahead of a game against Rochford Hundred in their next clash.