Dave Hemsley today revealed how the shock of being bottom of the table put Lewes back on the winning trail.

A 20-point haul from fullback Neil Rumble helped Lewes beat Gosport and Fareham 25-15 at the Stanley Turner Ground, lifting them out of the London Two South relegation zone.

The win came hot on the heels of success in Jersey and sets Lewes up nicely for a key trip to Maidstone next Saturday.

Skipper Hemsley reckons his side have played with more intensity in their last two outings.

And he admitted alarm bells were ringing after they slumped to bottom place recently.

He said: "People were thinking 'This is getting a bit serious now. We're bottom of the league and we've got to do something about it'.

"It was a wake-up call for us and we've played with more intensity in the last two games but it's a long road and we are still only at the start of it.

"We are still not playing our best but we are getting better."

Lewes did it the hard way against their fellow strugglers from Hampshire, going 10-0 up but then having to recover from a 15-10 second-half deficit. Rumble was responsible for the early advantage, coming into the line for a try, then adding the conversion and a penalty.

Lewes, though, were trailing when forward pressure led to a penalty try which Rumble goaled to open a 17-15 lead.

The fullback then fly-hacked down field and made the most of a Gosport fumble to score again, with the conversion and a late penalty completing his impressive tally.

Hemsley added: "We could have scored three or four more tries. We created chances but maybe we tried too many passes in the conditions."

Worthing have moved back ahead of Haywards Heath in London One but both teams have 50 per cent records.

Heath's seven-game unbeaten run ended at title candidates Canterbury but they were not disgraced in losing 38-21.

Canterbury were conceding less than ten points a game before Saturday but Heath conjured up three tries, the last of them by debutant James Ashford.

The contest was over by then, though, after Canterbury increased what looked a perilous 15-14 half-time lead.

Heath coach Ian Davies admitted: "We went off the boil in a ten-minute period after half-time and allowed Canterbury to stretch their lead and to grow in confidence.

"The players are disappointed because they know they did not defend very well. It would be easy for us to blame the referee for some of his decisions but we need to learn to play to how the referee is interpreting the laws."

Daniel Morath had a big hand in first-half tries for wingers Lee 'Otuhouma and Andrew Marienburg and also kicked three conversions.

Worthing had an undistinguished 17-13 home win over Bishops Stortford but also heard good news from the unlikely venue of Barking.

That was where first team skipper Jody Levett enjoyed his comeback after nine months out with a broken arm. Levett played the full 80 minutes as the second team lost 36-35 and said: "It was a bit painful but it was good to be back."

Back at base, Worthing came from 13-7 down as Terry Butler and Nathan Tule added crucial tries to Ben Coulson's early effort.