CHINNOR overcame the elements and Esher to earn a 24-18 victory at Kingsey Road.

The home win – their first since November 24 – helped the Thame-based side remain sixth in National League 1, closing the gap to second-placed Blackheath to five points.

Esher were on top in the opening stages and deservedly took the lead, thanks to a Paul Roberts penalty.

Chinnor had found it difficult to get their hands on the ball in the appalling conditions, but Greg Goodfellow’s penalty levelled the match on 20 minutes.

However, a poor restart led to Esher charging down a clearance and Joe Beckett went over in the corner, Roberts converting, to make it 10-3 to the visitors.

Roberts then slotted a penalty to extend the Surrey-based side’s advantage to ten points.

But Chinnor hit back before the break, when a rolling maul was finished off by Will Bordill, Goodfellow converting.

Having trailed 13-10 at half-time, the second period eventually belonged to the hosts despite the increasingly difficult conditions.

But a rare Esher attack led to the visitors extending their lead to eight points, when a speculative kick resulted in Kariym Irving touching down.

Finally, Chinnor got their act together and Greg King drove over, Goodfellow adding the extras to cut the gap to one point.

The hosts continued to dominate and were rewarded when George Oliver powered across, Goodfellow converting, to make it 24-18.

Esher forced a scrum five metres out late on, but Chinnor’s front row dominance was rewarded with a penalty and they ran the clock down to secure victory.

Henley Hawks made it 11 wins in their last 12 games when coming from behind to beat Old Albanians 33-12 at home.

The hosts, who sit third in National League 2 South, scored four second-half tries in the driving rain to see off their Hertfordshire-based visitors.

Both teams struggled early on in the conditions, but Hawks struck first on eight minutes, when Leo Webb touched down and Roddy Giles converted.

Albanians went on to dominate the rest of the half and led 12-7 at the break, thanks to tries from Zaki Chamnaoiu and Morgan Thompson, Daniel Watt converting the first.

With the wind and rain at their backs, Henley took the game to their visitors in the second half.

They quickly went 19-12 in front, when Xavier Andre and George Griffiths crossed, Giles converting the former.

An injury to Albanians scrum-half Thompson led to both teams being sent to the changing rooms for 15 minutes while he was treated on the pitch.

The break did not halt Hawks’s momentum as they added further tries through Sam Randle and David Hyde, Giles converting both, to complete a fine second half display.