National League 2 South Review - Henley on the brink

Henley Hawks are now just one bonus point win away from promotion and the league title after Dorking once again slipped up.

That slip up as allowed Bishop’s Stortford and Taunton to fight it out for the final play-off place, whilst Canterbury took a vital step towards National Two survival and Shelford continue to hang on for dear life.

Here is a round-up of all the action from Week 26 in National Two South.

Redruth 18-34 Henley Hawks

The league leaders are in touching distance of promotion to National One and the title. This was the sort of victory you would associate with champions as the Hawks put in a determined and professional display to inflict just Redruth’s third home league defeat of the season. 

Fly-half James Comben pulled the strings for The Hawks and added eleven points through his reliable boot, but The Reds made them fight all the way as they worked hard in defence and showed plenty of ambition when they had the ball in hand.

Henley now have a 15 point lead at the top with this win and with none of the National Two South sides in action this week, it means Henley just need a bonus point victory against second from bottom Shelford on March 28th, to see them crowned champions for the second time in three years.

Reaction - Redruth Head Coach Steve Larkin

"They are a classy outfit but we showed that we are not far short of them. They came with a good game plan and quality players to execute it, they deserve to be up there.

"We stuck at it though and at times the margins were small but small things can make a big difference. Sometimes in rugby you have to put your hands up and say that you were beaten by a better side."

Bishop’s Stortford 32-8 Dorking

This was a convincing win for Stortford who have manoeuvred their way into second place in the table as Dorking’s poor run of form continues. It was a nervy opening to the game, but Stortford had a 13-8 half-time lead thanks to an outstanding try from Tom Banks.

Stortford had been the better side in the first 40 and put their foot down after the break to race away from a hapless Dorking. Nick Hankin, Tom Coleman and Rory Young all touched down in the second half to round off an excellent display.

As for Dorking, the woeful results continue. Without a win since Valentine’s Day, they have seen their play-off place fade away and now they are down to fourth, four points behind Stortford.

Taunton 35-14 Chinnor

After their win over Dorking last week, Taunton are firmly in the hunt for the play-off place after seeing off Chinnor.

A Gary Kingdom penalty gave Taunton a 3-0 lead, but Chinnor hit back with Jake Olley going over as Reece Boughton converted. However, Taunton then grabbed the game by the scruff of the neck to convert a penalty try giving them a 10-7 lead. 

Kingdom nudged over another penalty which was swiftly followed by Tom Popham and Lewis Webb touching down. Kingdom continued his great kicking range for the afternoon as he bisected the posts once more via a pnealty, before Jack Claydon scored for the hosts. Chinnor had the last score of the day as Junior Fatialofa went, but it was only a consolation.

Taunton moved ahead of Dorking with this win and are just two points behind Bishop’s Stortford. As for Chinnor, they are now four points behind fifth placed Worthing after this defeat.

Worthing Raiders 19-43 Cambridge

Worthing would have been very disappointed with this result after producing some fantastic rugby over the last few weeks. This was their largest defeat at home this season, but they were simply outplayed by Cambridge who have now won their last five matches.

After taking a 14-0 lead, it was a promising start from the hosts, but Cambridge kept their cool and reduced the deficit to 14-10 at the break thanks to a try from Steve Hipwell and a penalty by Ben Penfold.

Worthing seemed to be in command of this game when they crossed over at the start of the second half, but Cambridge turned the game around as tries from Mike Gillick, James Stokes, Jim Wigglesworth, Hipwell's second, and then Wigglesworth again saw Cambridge seal the win and move up to 6th place in the league. They are also now just two points behind Worthing and top five finish this season is now in their sights.

Old Elthamians 51-28 Shelford

This was more like it from an Old E’s perspective. After four games without a win, the home side produced an excellent display, especially within their backs, in a game which they really did control.

Having been down to 14 men for a quarter of the half, their 24-6 lead at half-time was fully deserved.
With the wind behind them in the second half, Tom White knocked over five penalties, whilst Jonny Williams and Teaghan Price scored tries five and six for the afternoon for the OE’s.

Southend were determined not to leave without a bonus point and tries from Daniel Legge, Sonny Gay, Brad Burr and Mike Guess gave the score a sevens feel and secured what could prove to be a vital bonus point for Southend.

The OE’s look set to finish eighth or ninth this season which is a very good return considering this is their first season in National Two South. As for Southend, they are six points clear of the drop and go up against 13th place Canterbury in two weeks’ time.

Clifton 8-29 Cornish All Blacks

Cornish All Blacks coach Mike Lewis believed that the threat of relegation from National Two South inspired his teams victory over Clifton.

This was the All Blacks’ biggest win of the campaign and just their fourth win on the road. They have now moved up to 10th place and are 10 points clear of the relegation zone.

As for Clifton, this was their fourth defeat in a row and they have won just once in their last seven.

They are eight points clear of the bottom three, but there may be some nerves starting to creep in. 

Canterbury 22-9 Lyndey

With Southend coming up on March 28th, this was a huge win for Canterbury in their fight for survival as they eased past fellow strugglers Lyndey  Seventeen second half points brought the city side a solid and deserved victory and, crucially, they did not allow Lyndey a single point to take back with them. 

This was a very good performance by Canterbury who are now four points clear of Lyndey and the drop zone with four matches remaining. This defeat for Lyndey ended their three game unbeaten run, but they are still very much alive in this relegation fight.

Shelford 43-29 Dings Crusaders

Shelford are really giving this relegation battle a good go. They are hanging on by the thinnest piece of thread, but these five points in a stunning comeback against the already relegated Dings, leaves them still mathematically able to stay in this division.

Despite these sides being the bottom two, there were 12 tries on show. Shelford were behind by 24 points after just 20 minutes as a brace from David Wheeler and tries by Michael Uren and James Oakley saw Dings pick up a bonus point.

Shelford knew anything less than a win could well see them relegated and on 30 minutes Aki Lea touched down and was joined by Nico Steenkamp to set up a platform for a comeback.

Andy Scott added another try to the board, before Lea gave Shelford the lead for the first time in the game. Tom Ransom then extended the advantage, before Lea crossed for his hat-trick to end what was remarkable fight back for Shelford.

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