The Green Machine followed up their 19-5 win over Stamford College Old Boys with a come-from-behind derby success at Thorney, putting them on course for Cunningham’s stated aim of a top-five finish.

Two tries from scrum-half Lance Charity, plus one from second row forward Jack Rogers and kicker Chris Owen – his first try for Deepings – overturned a 22-14 deficit deep into the second half.

Cunningham said: “It’s the first time we’ve beaten Thorney in a competitive match for five years, so there were a few happy lads on Saturday and I still have a big grin.

“It took a lot of grit and team spirit to get our biggest win of the season, with Chris Owen coming away with 14 points and Kelvin Squires getting man of the match.

“It was a team performance, all the subs made an impact and a lot of it is down to our training nights which are helping us to gel as a team.”

By inflicting on Thorney their second league defeat in a row, Deepings have set themselves up for a chance to break into the top five with a win over Wellingborough Old Grammarians - the side immediately above them in the league - at Linchfield Road on Saturday.

Cunningham said: “We’ve got some tough games at the end of the season (Birstall, Northampton Men’s Own and Queens) so the target isn’t changing.

“But there’s definitely more enjoyment here, especially with the younger lads, and Thorney was our biggest win of the season.

“It was a really good match and pretty good-natured, with no fisticuffs and both teams trying to score tries.

“We were up 14-12 at half-time but soon afterwards, we were 22-14 down so to come back and win 29-22 - with a bonus point and two yellow cards - showed that we had a lot of team spirit and people fronted up.

“We still play rugby more for the fun of the game, but we still want to make the top five.”

Match details

Match date

Sat 16 Jan 2016

Kickoff

14:15

Location

Thorney RUFC

Competition

Midlands 4 East (South)

Team overview