Elthamians have conceded just three second half tries in total so far in their three league games, and two of those came in the dying minutes of the game at Rotherham when a reshuffled OEs side had three forwards in the backline.

The delighted OEs boss insists their ‘Big D’ has laid the foundations for their winning start to the season. “I thought our defensive display for the second week on the trot was absolutely outstanding,” he said, “and I reckon we only took 50 per cent of our chances - we killed at least three in the second half.

“To be fair to Danny Brown, the Darlington DOR who we have a very good relationship with, he shook my hand at the end and said, ‘no complaints, you were worthy winners’ which is a massive compliment coming from him and a side as good as Darlington are.

“The whole gameplan in training in the week leading up to the game was about not letting their big ball carriers get into any space at all and making sure their scrum-half couldn’t snipe around the blindside. And I think we got it just about spot on.

“I’m delighted because Darlington are a quality side and they are going to be in the mix at the end of the season. So to play the way we did was very very pleasing.”

Despite securing three wins on the trot and lying second in the National One table, Lach insists no one in the Elthamians camp is getting carried away. “I know I’m fond of saying ‘it’s feet on the ground time’ but it is!” Lach said. “If you start getting ahead of yourself, this league has an uncanny knack of tripping you up because all the sides in the division are quality sides. So it’s a cliche, but we are taking it one week at a time.

“We’ve got Rosslyn Park this Saturday and we know they are a very good side, so we are taking absolutely nothing for granted. With the quality of teams we have already faced in the first three games, we could very easily have been winless in the opening month, so although I’m delighted, it’s all about getting our heads down, working hard in training and continuing to build the momentum.”

Lach concluded: "You don't win anything in September, so it's game three done, now we will be looking no further than the next task which is trying to get a result at the Rock - one of the hardest grounds to get a result from in the league."