Chester RUFC dished out a comprehensive beating to in-form Otley at a blustery Hare Lane on Saturday afternoon.

Five defeats from seven games since Nic Corrigan's departure as director of rugby had made for a difficult end to 2014 yet this resounding 40-12 win reinstalled belief and pushed them back into National League Two North's top four.

Dave Craven's team dominated up front, were close to faultless in the set piece and far more clinical than in recent weeks.

Chester made the more encouraging start, relentless defence pushing Otley backwards and leading to a couple of promising openings, although both went begging.

Craig Ross gave the hosts a deserved lead in the 12 minute on the back of a good surge from Gavin Woods. Tom Foden scythed through the defence and Ross collected his inside pass to score in the corner for a 5-0 lead with Will Goodwin unable to add the extra two.

Unfortunately it did not take Otley long to respond and a break from midfield left the covering defenders with too much to do as the Yorkshiremen touched down near the posts three minutes later to level the scores.

Chester continued to look the more threatening and regained the lead on 22 minutes when Tom Gregory pulled down a line-out and the forwards drove forward with number eight Guy Ford crossing. Goodwin dragged his conversion wide to make the score 10-5.

Goodwin, whose kicking percentages took a hammering in the wind, fell short with a three-point attempt soon after.

Chester moved 15-5 in front in the 29 minute Goodwin booted a penalty into the corner and hooker Andy Moore found the target with his throw. Once more the forwards took over and Ford touched down for his second.

It was one-way traffic now and Otley fell further behind on 34 minutes when scrum half Matt Walsh found Ross White with a short pass and he powered over from close range. Goodwin's conversion attempt rebounded off the post to make the score 20-5.

Chester scored a fifth try three minutes before the end of the half when Rhys Hayes swooped on an Otley chip and burst clear, showing too much pace and power for the chasing defenders to give his side a 25-5 lead at the turnaround.

With the breeze now behind them, Otley might have expected to see more of the ball in the second period yet it was Chester who remained the team in control.

Disciplined and composed in possession, the home forwards made good ground through the middle and the livewire Walsh provided quick ball for his backs.

Chester extended the lead on the hour when Ford took a short ball from Walsh and bulldozed through the defence for his hat-trick. Hayes, assuming the kicking duties with Goodwin off the field, landed the conversion to leave Otley trailing 32-5.

Six minutes later and the home side were in again, Hayes giving a no-look inside pass to Ross, who skipped past a couple of defenders and ran in to score.

Otley had no real answer to the power of the home pack and the longer the game went on, the more ragged the visitors became.

Chester brought on fresh legs in the closing stages and the game suffered as a result of the changes but the work was done from the hosts' perspective.

Otley did get themselves on the board again four minutes before the end, exposing a momentary lapse of concentration to nip through a gap and touch down next to the posts for a converted score.

Chester had the last word in the closing stages when Mike Craven pounced on a loose line-out and broke, leading to two quick penalties. Hayes elected to go for three points from the second and knocked the ball between the posts to kill the game and complete a 40-12 win.