Hartpury, Richmond and Blackheath capitalise on slip-ups
Blackheath and Richmond are on the tails of Hartpury, but now have breathing space in the top three
©Roger Wooldridge
After dropped points have been seldom at the top of National One, it was a surprise to see three of the top six sides all lose on Saturday which league leaders Hartpury profited from as they cemented their place at the summit of the table.
Richmond and Blackheath also consolidated their positions in the top three as Esher, Rosslyn Park and Ampthill & District all suffered defeats.
Elsewhere, Coventry picked up a win against a Cinderford side who have departed company with their Director of Rugby and Coaching Nic Corrigan while Fylde and Darlington Mowden Park both picked up victories.
Wharfedale 0-45 Hartpury College
Hartpury College stayed one point clear at the top of National One as they thumped Wharfedale away from home.
Hartpury were only 12 points ahead at the break thanks to a score from Benjamin Vellacott and a Penalty Try, but the visitors then blew their hosts away in the second half as they ran in five tries.
Another Penalty Try and a second try from Vellacott as well as touch downs from Jake Polledri, Steven Leonard and George Evans saw the league leaders home and condemned Wharfedale to another defeat which dropped them into the bottom three.
Ampthill and District 10-46 Richmond
Richmond are refusing to go away from this title chase as another bonus point win – this time against Ampthill & District- leaves them 2nd in the table.
A hat-trick from Charles Broughton and braces from Christopher Davies and Thomas Sargeant highlighted just how dominated Richmond were in this encounter as Ampthill faded away as the game ticked by.
The A’s suffered a couple of injuries during the match and will have to regroup ahead of their clash with Plymouth Albion this coming Saturday.
Blackheath 34-3 Plymouth Albion
Speaking of Plymouth Albion, they were soundly beaten by Blackheath who moved up to third in the table with this bonus point win.
The hosts scored five tries overall including a double from David Allen on their way to a comfortable and controlled victory.
Blaydon 14-8 Esher
Now come the shocks of the weekend and we begin in the north-east as Blaydon surprised everyone by toppling Esher who have now lost their last two games.
Blaydon suffered a heavy defeat to Coventry last week and showed no signs of feeling sorry for themselves as they thoroughly deserved their third win of the season.
Rhodri Adamson’s try and three penalties from Brett Connon was enough for victory and means after leading the table just three weeks ago, Esher are now seven points off Hartpury.
Rosslyn Park 10-32 Loughborough Students
Now on to the second surprise result of the weekend. In last weeks review and preview pieces, TRU spoke exclusively to Loughborough Students scrum-half George De Cothi who stated he wanted his side to push on after victory over Wharfedale on November 14th.
And that’s exactly what his side did against Rosslyn Park on Saturday.
Park led 10-7 at half-time thanks to a double from Hugo Ellis, but Loughborough went through the gears in the second period and swept their hosts aside.
Tries from Harry Nuttall, Andrew Boyce and George Eastwood along with some excellent attacking rugby proved to be the difference between the two sides. Loughborough are now 11th in the table.
Cinderford 13-38 Coventry
Coventry will be very satisfied with their afternoon’s work as they took advantage of Esher and Rosslyn Park’s misfortune to move closer to the top six with this win over Cinderford.
Three tries either side of half-time really was more than enough for Coventry to run out comfortable winners as Cinderford drop to the bottom of the table.
It was also announced yesterday that Cinderford’s Director of Rugby & Coaching Nic Corrigan is stepping down from his position after joining from National Two North side Chester in November 2014.
Corrigan said on the club website: “I am obviously extremely saddened to be leaving this Club and the role. As I have always said, I ultimately accept and take responsibility for the team’s performance and we have not delivered the results we all hoped for during the first eleven rounds of National 1.
“I took on the role in difficult circumstances and it has been a huge challenge to transition the team with many hurdles along the way both on and off the pitch. I would like to thank the players, coaches, and supporters for their commitment, and hard work in my time as Director of Rugby. It has been an honour to coach this Club.”
Henley Hawks 18-23 Fylde
Fylde are now up to 8th in National One after back to back wins and Coach Paul Arnold will be pleased with that as he told Talking Rugby Union that his side will be aiming for “a top half finish” this season.
However, he won’t have been pleased with the way Ben Vernon was sent-off as he was harshly dismissed after things got heated at a lineout towards the end of the first period, but Fylde did lead 5-7 at half-time.
A penalty try and two penalties sealed it for the visitors in the second half, although a late penalty gave Henley a losing bonus point. This result still dropped them into a relegation spot and they are still struggling to find form.
Darlington Mowden Park 43-11 Hull Ionians
Darlington Mowden Park’s recent good performances continued this weekend as they made it two wins in a row with victory over Hull Ionians.
The star of the show was winger Peter Homan who ran in four tries throughout the afternoon as Park are now 12th in the table and this victory brings them just six points off the top half.
