Haywards Heath skipper Alex Meredith believes his side have now proved they belong in National League Three South after a convincing 34-6 win over Westcombe Park.

Since winning promotion last season Heath have struggled to adapt to their new surroundings but showed they are learning fast by securing their second win of the season to climb two places to tenth.

Meredith said: "It was probably our best performance of the season so far and it was the first time we have kept on going for the full 80 minutes.

"In previous games we have got ourselves into a position where we could have gone on to win only to let it slip, but this time we finished them off which was very pleasing.

"I have never thought we would not survive in this league. It is all a matter of adapting to a higher level of rugby and I think we are starting to do that.

"There is no doubt in my mind we will stay up and considering we have played most of the teams near the top and have some easier games coming up I am hoping we can secure a place in mid-table."

Huw Griffin gave Heath an early lead after a powerful drive from Damian Lyall had forced Park to concede a penalty and Griffin doubled the lead in the 20th minute. Simon Jervis responded with a penalty of his own but Griffin restored the six point advantage at the break with his third kick after Dave Wattam had gone close to crossing the line.

Jervis cut the lead to three again but, after he missed a chance to level the scores, Heath took control.

First Wattam touched down for the first try of the game which James Mackie converted and then Stuart Charnley kicked a penalty to make it 19-6.

Heath were now rampant and put the game out of reach with tries from Lyall and Meredith before Charnley completed the scoring with another penalty.

"It shows we are capable of grinding out a result because with half an hour to go it was still very tight," said Meredith. "Now we need to build on this performance."

Chichester took the opportunity to experiment with a few new players after their London Three South East clash with Dartfordians was called off and may have unearthed a gem as a result.

A hastily arranged friendly against Bognor gave second row Phil Veltrem his debut and he shone in a 34-14 victory.

Prop Frank Corby said: "It was nice to be able to try a few things without the pressure of a league match and I would imagine Phil will play a part in the future."