SEDGLEY Tigers bagged five tries inside half an hour as they got back on track with a 43-24 home win against South Leicester on Saturday.

After three successive National Two North defeats, general manager Geoff Roberts was pleased with the response of his side who he said “looked more like their old selves” in the Park Lane clash.

Tries from Danny Maher (two), Steve Collins, Jamie Harrison and Andy Riley, as well as four successful conversions and a penalty from Collins, saw Sedgley race into a 36-0 lead with 30 minutes on the clock.

South Leicester reduced the deficit before half time but a sixth Sedgley score from Tom Coe, and another Collins conversion, 10 minutes into the second half all but sealed the win for the hosts.

And that allowed Roberts to make changes to his side and allow those carrying knocks, or on the way back from injury, to get a rest ahead of a tough trip to high-flying Chester this weekend.

Roberts said: “We had an incredibly fast start and that allowed us to make changes.

“We took hooker Danny Maher off at half time because he has played a lot of rugby this season and we also replaced Steve Collins as he is still feeling his way back after injury.

“Mark Goodman and Andy Riley also had a breather.

“We want to try and save those who have knocks because we have some big games coming up.

“And the five early tries let us do that.

“After our sixth and all the changes, it altered our game but we took that chance to see the game out and we did.

“Okay, so they got a fourth-try bonus point but that did not bother us because we are looking at the bigger picture.

“It doesn’t matter whether we score 80 points or 40 as long as we win.”

The quick start involved some flowing rugby from the Tigers more akin to their promotion-chasing campaign last year.

And Roberts hopes that bodes well for the second half of this season as the squad strength improves week by week.

He added: “In the first half we scored some great tries and it was much more like last year.

“They were blown away and didn’t have an answer to us and that was pleasing to see.

“Here’s hoping for a few more displays like that in the next few weeks.”

The Tigers have three more games before Christmas, starting with Saturday’s trip to second-placed Chester and an outing on the hosts’ artificial pitch.

But that is not an issue for Roberts.

He added: “The all-weather surface will not affect us, in fact it may suit our fast game.

“It is an important one for us with two home games up next.”