AMERSHAM & Chiltern head coach Richie Williams has praised the free-flowing rugby played by his side throughout their promotion clinching campaign.

Chiltern secured the London One North title on Saturday with a resounding 70-10 defeat of Barking which was in keeping with their general performances this season.

The victory saw them clinch the title by just one point over Tring, and Williams feels the club can be proud of the way they have secured a return to the National League Three South East.

“The target was to get promoted and I am very pleased with how the players have gone about it for nearly the whole season,” Williams explained.

“It is not always easy when you have the expectation that you should get promoted and the players have managed that really well.

“We have given them a base to work with and they have played some really good, attacking rugby. Form a coaching perspective, it has been pleasing to see them play with creativity and freedom.

“I am really, really happy both personally and for the players and everyone who is involved with the club.”

The freedom Williams speaks off has been prevalent throughout Chiltern’s play for the entirety of a league campaign which has seen them register a club record 1038 league points.

It was once again on show on Saturday as William’s men ran in 12 tries to seal their promotion in the bonus point win required to keep Tring at arm’s length.

Any sense of pre-game nerves were swept aside as Chiltern scored the four tries they needed for a bonus point inside 20 minutes, and left Williams delighted with their efforts.

“There was a little bit of tension heading into the game because of the expectation we would win, but the boys dealt with the pressure really well and played some really good rugby,” Williams said.

“Knowing we needed four bonus point wins from our last four games helped to focus everybody because we knew there was no margin for error.

“I felt a mix of emotions at full-time because there was the joy of going up and also the relief of knowing we had done what we had set out to do.”

Of course, with promotion comes the fresh challenge of establishing yourself in a new division against tougher opposition.

It is a challenge which proved too much for Chiltern in 2015 as they were relegated to the London One North.

Williams is convinced the class of 2016 will cope better with the step up in quality and have the ability to thrive at a higher level.

“It will be a massive challenge for us. The league is just as strong as it was the year we went down, but I think the squad we have built will be more competitive at a higher level,” said Williams.

“We have some very, very good players who are capable of playing at a higher level and ultimately we want to stay at National Three level.

“Realistically we have enough quality to finish in the top half of the league. Every team will have similar sort of aims and the first step for us is to stay in the division and then see where we can go from there.”