Epping Upper Clapton demonstrated why they are London 3 Essex champions by overwhelming Kings Cross Steelers 52-25 in their final game of the season.

John Robinson ran over a hat-trick on his return to the side and there were also tries for Cam Furlong, Dom Merrett, Dan Jones, James Hack and Lucas Moretta, while Reece Reed calmly notched a number of conversions.

There was an expectancy from the large crowd that had gathered to see Clapton round off their remarkable campaign with a win, and even though Kings Cross took the lead with a penalty, two Robinson tries saw the home side storm back early on.

Before the break, the two sides shared four more tries between them, with Furlong crossing after being at the centre of a couple of line-breaking moves, and Merrett then showed good one-on-one skill to beat the defender and touch down.

Reed added the two conversions for Clapton, while Kings Cross missed the two from their tries to go in at the break with a score of 24-13.

Clapton were the quickest out of the blocks in the second half and Robinson completed his hat-trick before Jones, on his final outing for the side, went over.

Hack then rounded off another fine team move before Moretta completed the try scoring for the afternoon.

Reed added conversions to all of Clapton’s second-half tries, while Steelers replied with two scores to cap a final result of 52-25.

The game marked the end of a memorable campaign for Clapton, who ran in 922 points over the course of the season and finished with 100 points in the league table, 15 clear of second-placed East London.