Ely Tigers all but secured promotion to the London Three North-East division after they surged to a 53-13 success over Thurston.

Ely Standard: Charlie Coupland bagged four tries in Ely's resounding win.Charlie Coupland bagged four tries in Ely's resounding win. (Image: Archant)

There were fears in the Ely camp that their title challenge could be stunted after a two week break, but any doubts were cast aside with a dominant performance, including four tries from Charlie Coupland, which helped his side go two points clear at the top.

Ely began brightly on a sunny afternoon in Suffolk, and took the lead through Coupland, who touched down in the corner after a strong run.

Minutes later, Harry Rogerson scored almost a carbon copy of Coupland’s earlier try, when the youngster dotted down in the same corner after receiving a pass on the wing.

Thurston refused to lie down, and reduced the arrears after converting a penalty try, but the away side kicked on and added further tries through Coupland and man-of-the-match Sam Benzie.

Ely weren’t finished there, and bagged five more tries in the second period, with Coupland touching down twice more, Rogerson notching his brace and Joel Scott Paul and Matt McCarthy all helping the Tigers to a resounding win, with sees them maintain their place at the league’s summit with only one game to go.

Ely are to tie up their league campaign with a home clash against Thetford next Saturday, and will hope second-placed Wymondham, who have a game in hand over them, will slip up and allow them to finish as league champions.