Basra was especailly pleased with the victory after seeing his side down to 13 players at one stage following two sin bins, and scoring what he described as one of the tries of the season.

Hertford made a quick start with James Kinsley powering over the line after around 15 phases, and with Ben Lloyd slotting over the conversion it was 7-0 after just five minutes.

However, the hosts had to wait until the half hour mark to extend their advantage when Lloyd kicked a penalty to make it 10-0.

Chingford hit back just before the break, exploiting a mistake in defence to score.

Right on half-time, Hertford won a penalty in their own 22 and the ball went through several pairs of hands and the length of the pitch for Joe Stockwell to go over in the corner. Lloyd converted to make it 17-7.

“It was one of the tries of the season,” beamed Basra. “It was also a very timely try.

“I’m surprised where they are in the league. Their games have been very tight and they made a nuisance of themselves at the breakdown.

“At half-time we decided to compete better at the breakdown, with the ball carrier and the first man needing to clear the ruck area.

“We also felt they probably weren’t as fit as us, so we decided to move the ball a bit more and open the game up.”

Hertford were enjoying a lot of scrum dominance and the forward pack, including Tim Matthews and Geoff Hughes, as well as the returning ‪Chris Joyce‬, were doing really well in that area.

This resulted in a penalty try for the hosts on 54 minutes.

“The referee had enough after two or three collapsed scrums and gave the penalty try,” said Basra.

Chingford got back on the scoresheet with an unconverted try in the 72nd minute while Jack Elston and Matthews were both off the pitch for yellow card team offences.

“We had 13 men on the pitch and they managed to score one try in that period, we had a six man scrum and turned the ball over so that was really good.”

Man of the match James Keens got the bonus point try after Hertford exterted pressure going through the phases in the middle of the pitch.

“It was a really tough game but I’m pleased with the way we kept our composure and dug in,” added Basra.

“We lost Michael Sargent after 20 minutes when he rolled his ankle, with Jack Mitchell coming on at scrum-half, and he acquitted himself well.

“We’re hoping he [Sargent] will be fit for this Saturday’s match at Dorking.”

Hertford are in fourth place with 31 points, just two behind Sutton.

“We’ve got keep on winning and take each game as it comes.

“Dorking is always a good place to play rugby, it’s a lovely pitch and there’s always a decent crowd.

“The boys have been really fronting up over the past few games and they’ve got to do that again this weekend.

“We need to keep the pressure on the teams above us, we’ve got to push on and push hard.”

Red Newberry is available for selection after serving out his red card suspension, and Torran Macdougall is also expected to return.