National One: Ampthill lead the way after maintaining 100 per cent start

After winning the National Two North play-off last season, Ampthill and District are now top of National One after picking up maximum points from their opening three matches.

There were five away wins in Round Three of the division including Ampthills’ victory at Cinderford as well as victories for Hartpury College, Blackheath, Richmond and Wharfedale.

Ampthill and District and Rosslyn are now the only two unbeaten sides in this division after Coventry’s home defeat to Hartpury.

Cinderford 25 -27 Ampthill and District

Ampthill moved two points clear at the top of National One after a victory over winless Cinderford. The away side led 19-7 thanks to tries from Darrell Dyer, Joseph Tarrant and Matthew Howling, but Cinderford turned the game on its head as they had a 25-24 advantage with just 11 minutes remaining.

Two Callum Sheedy penalties and tries from Milo Reynolds and Alex Pickersgill gave them that lead, but a late Will Maisey penalty sealed the win for Ampthill. This performance by Cinderford suggests that a win may be just around the corner.

Rossyln Park 26-17 Darlington Mowden Park

Rosslyn Park kept their unbeaten start going but were made to work hard for it against Darlington Mowden Park. The away side put in a valiant display despite being down to 14 men for most of the second period.

Hugo Ellis scored a hat-trick for Rosslyn Park, but DMP did extremely well to stop the hosts claiming a bonus point after Bruno Bravo was shown a second yellow card just after half-time.

Coventry 21-23 Hartpury College

Hartpury College ended Coventry’s unbeaten start to the season with this victory and also won by the same margin as they did last season at the Butts Park Arena. The hosts dominated possession but were unable to break down Hartpury who were excellent in defence and maintained their discipline.

Full-back Gareth Thomson scored 11 points for Hartpury with the tries coming from James Voss and Jake Polledri. The defeat for Coventry puts them third in the table, just four points behind the leaders.

Henley Hawks 14-37 Blackheath

After beating Darlington Mowden Park last week, Henley Hawks were brought back down to earth with this loss at home to Blackheath.

The visitors led 23-10 at half-time thanks to tries from Terry Read, Geoff Griffiths and Aston Croall and two penalties from Freddie Gabbitass.

Gabbitass then kicked a further nine points in the second half and was backed up by a Penalty Try and scores from David Allen and George Edgson to put Blackheath fifth in the table. They have also notched up 107 points – the second highest amount so far this season.

Esher 30-16 Loughborough Students

Esher made it two wins on the bounce with this victory over bottom of the table Loughborough Students. This was a more encouraging performance by Loughborough, but a double from Andrew Wright and second half tries from Andrew Garner and Joseph Brown saw Esher home.

Hull Ionians 25-21 Plymouth Albion

National Two North champions Hull Ionians have now own their last 17 games at home after this win against Plymouth Albion.

Two penalty tries and an early score from Luke Thundercliffe gave the I’s a 25-0 lead with Issac Green kicking 10 points.

Albion then hit back in the second half with a more dynamic game which saw them score three converted tries to seal them a losing bonus point.

Hull Ionains have begun life in National One well and Albion now know it won’t be easy to return to the IPA Championship at the first time of asking.

Fylde 27-29 Richmond

Fylde continued their shaky start to the season with a narrow home defeat to Richmond. A late penalty from Ross Jones-Davidson stole the points for Richmond in the 86^th minute of the game.

This was an impressive performance on their travels by Richmond who led 20-10 at the interval thanks to tries from Jack Allcock and Samuel Stuart with three points coming from the boot of Robert Kirby.

It was a disjointed first half display by the hosts, but they got it together in the second period as a brace from Oliver Brennand and seven points from Chris Johnson gave them a 27-26 lead two minutes from time.  However, Jones-Davidson’s kick sneaked it for Richmond.

Blaydon 13-43 Wharfedale

Wharfedale upset the odds with a thumping win against neighbours Blaydon. The visitors were excellent upfront as they ran in seven tries. A hat-trick from Cameron Hudson, a double from Daniel Tai Sen Choy and scores from Maxime Labasse and James Doherty added to the problems for Blaydon.