Hawks hand themselves survival lifeline

Round 20 in National One saw Henley Hawks take a huge step towards safety as they were the only side in the bottom six to achieve victory.

In the title race, only Hartpury College managed a maximum five point win while Darlington Mowden Park made it 10 wins from their last 10 games in a remarkable run of form.

Blaydon 3-10 Richmond

As thought, league leaders Richmond saw off the challenge of Blaydon in the north-east but it wasn't as comfortable as they would've liked.

Jack Allcock's try gave the visitors the edge heading into half-time before Richmond clicked into gear in the second 40.

They put a lot of pressure on the Blaydon line, but the home side defended valiantly and restricted Richmond to just a Ronnie McLean-Dents try. A losing bonus point was deserved for Blaydon but they remain in the bottom three after this win.

Blackheath 21-15 Ampthill and District

It was another tight clash at Blackheath as they host had to dig deep to earn victory over Ampthill and District.

The A's were 0-12 ahead on 26 minutes thanks to a Gavin Williams brace before ill-discipline let Club back into the contest as Freddie Gabbitass nailed two penalties just before half-time.

The home side then took control  after the break as tries from Thomas Stradwick and Owain James along with another Gabbitass penalty gave Blackheath a 21-12 lead.

And Ampthill's comeback challenge was over when Karl Braband picked up a red-card 15 minutes from time.

The win keeps Blackheath in second place still 6 points behind Richmond, but with a game in hand.

Cinderford 7-38 Hartpury College

Hartpury College gained ground on the top two in the title race as they eased to a bonus point win over bottom side Cinderford.

One of the stars of the Premiership 7s for Gloucester in Gloucester last year was Ben Vellacott who was on form on Saturday as he scored a double as College took a 7-17 lead into halftime.

Second half tries from William Safe, Mark Harrison and Jonas Mikalcius sealed it for Hartpury leaving them level on points with Blackheath while the loss leaves Cinderford eight points from safety with 10 games to go.

Esher 15-30 Plymouth Albion

Plymouth Albion have leapfrogged Esher into fourth place after their victory over Walton-on-Thames side on Saturday.

Albion took advantage of yellow card shown to Andrew Garner just before half-time to take control of this contest as Michael Stupple and Nice Decres both crossed in his absence.

Esher had the chance give Plymouth a taste of their own medicine when Sam Matavasi was sin-binned but could only manage one score through Spencer Sutherland as they fell further behind the top three.

The win for Albion is their eighth in their last nine games which signifies a superb chance in fortunes for Graham Dawe's side that struggled to adjust to life in National One in the early parts of the campaign.

Darlington Mowden Park 36-26 Wharfedale

Darlington Mowden Park are rampant at the minute. They secured their 10th successive win over relegation threatened Wharfedale on the weekend leaving them just four points behind Plymouth Albion.

A red card after just 3 minutes shown to Joshua Burridge didn’t help Dale’s cause as DMP ran in five tries after his dismissal.

However, the away side showed fight and spirit, which is needed when you are in a relegation battle, as they scored a late try to secure a deserved bonus point. The defeat for Dale sees them just one point clear of the drop.

Rosslyn Park 14-12 Fylde

Rosslyn Park came from 12-3 down to defeat Fylde at Priory Lane.

Tries from David Fairbrother and Oliver Brennand gave the Lancashire side a 3-12 lead on 49 minutes before Park mounted their fightback.

Two penalties from Thomas Whelan to add to his one in the first-half put them within three points of Fylde before a Penalty Try on 66 minutes ultimately clinched the win for the hosts.

Rosslyn are eighth after this win having won 12 games this season while it was a similar story for Fylde as their inconsistency haunted them again.

Coventry 26-19 Hull Ionians 

Like Rosslyn Park, Coventry also came from behind to earn victory over a resilient Hull Ionians outfit at the Butts Park Arena.

The Blues were behind 5-14 down at half-time thanks to tries from Stephen Johnson and Joe Allot for the I's before the hosts fought back in the second period.

Scores from George Oliver, Wayne Evans and Clifford Hodgson completed a strong comeback for Coventry which leaves them ninth in the table while Hull Ionians are now only nine points from the relegation zone.

Henley Hawks 25-19 Loughborough Students

Arguably the biggest result of the weekend saw 15th placed Henley Hawks hand themselves a lifeline as they came back from 3-14 down to secure only their fifth win of the season.

Tries from Thomas James and George Davies gave Students and deserved lead at the break, before Hawks displayed great character to turn the game around.

A brace from Basil Strang and a score from William Moss proved to be the difference as Henley ended a run of just one win in 12 matches. They are now one point from safety while Students are seven points clear of the drop.