Record breaking Hartpury extend lead at the top

After a remarkable run of 10 straight bonus-point victories, Hartpury College have now set a new record for National One and above following their latest win over the Old Albanian.

John Barnes’ men secured their 11^th consecutive maximum point win which is a new record for the top three divisions in England and now they lead the way in National One by a staggering 12 points at this stage of the season.

In Round 11, second placed Birmingham Moseley fell further behind the league leaders as they were beaten by Plymouth Albion while there was a returned to winning ways for Blackheath and Ampthill and District.

Elsewhere, Loughborough responded to two heavy losses by running in 11 tries on their way to a resounding win over bottom of the table Macclesfield. Also, Rosslyn Park continued their good recent form with a win against Esher, Cambridge treated their home fans to a victory and Blaydon’s recent positive performances were rewarded as they triumphed over Hull Ionians.

Old Albanian 0-32 Hartpury College

Hartpury College thrashed newly-promoted Old Albanian to secure a record breaking 11^th consecutive bonus-point win.

This win for Hartpury has now set a new record for National League One and above for the most bonus point victories in a row ever achieved as College continued their dominance this season.

The league leaders were ahead in this contest after an excellent first half which saw tries from Mike Wilcox and Mat Gilbert as well as a penalty via Jacob Perry which earnt John Barnes’ men a 13-0 lead.

The highly-rated pairing of Jake Polledri and Harry Randall both crossed soon after the break for College before James Stevenson wrapped up their history making win as he dotted down late on.

Plymouth Albion 27-20 Birmingham Moseley

Hartpury College are now 12 points clear at the top of National One as second placed Birmingham Moseley were beaten by Plymouth Albion at Brickfields.

Former Moseley player Nile Darces crashed over for Albion, but the hosts were 10-7 behind at the break as Timothy Molenaar dotted down for the away side.

Kieran Hallet levelled the scores from tee just after the restart, but Drew Cheshire’s wonderfully worked try put Moseley back ahead.

The visitors failed to make their pressure count and were punished just before the hour as Robin Wedlake-Milllecam levelled up proceedings following a nicely constructed try.

A James Williams penalty then gave Moseley the lead once again, but they were unable to hold on to their advantage for a third time in this contest and it proved fatal.

With Albion searching for a winner, they eventually made their pressure pay in the 80th minute when Hallett sneaked around the side of a rolling maul. The win was then sealed when Jamie Salter drove over in the final play of the game for Plymouth who have now won all six of their home matches this term.

Darlington Mowden Park 5-31 Blackheath

Blackheath secured their first win in three matches and did so in style as they beat Darlington Mowden as both sides ending the game with 14 men.

Club’s openside flanker Chris Walker along with DMP captain James Penman were both sent-off after just 10 minutes for an altercation following James Fitzpatrick’s try for the home side.

However, a penalty from Mark Cooke as well as tries from Tom Chapman and Freddie Owen put Blackheath 19-5 ahead at half-time.

They then built on their lead in the second period as Dan George and Cooke went over to clinch a much needed win for Blackheath while Darlington’s recent woes continue.

Ampthill and District 22-8 Coventry

Ampthill made it back to back home wins at Dillingham Park thanks to this victory over an in-form Coventry side.

Eoghan Grace took advantage of some quick thinking at the line-out to score an early try and the visitors were actually 8-5 ahead after a tight first-half.

Coventry began on the front foot after the break, but it was in the final quarter of this contest when Ampthill sparked into life.

Stef Jones added to his first-half try by slotting over a penalty on 64 minutes to make the game all square before the hosts stepped up a gear to win this clash. Two similar catch and drive tries in the final 10 minutes through Alexi Lutui and a Penalty Try was enough for the win for the A’s

Loughborugh Students 76-30 Macclesfield

Loughborough Students returned to winning ways and did so in some style as they hit top gear to demolish Macclesfield at Epinal Way.

Students were almost out of sight at half-time, Rotimi Segun, Will Edwards, Josh Sharp, Andrew Boyce, Harry Simmons and Yainnis Loizias all going over for a try apiece.

A score from Macclesfield’s Elliot Millar-Mills had actually levelled the game up at 5-5 and even with a Sam Broster try midway through the first period, the afternoon continued to get worse for the away side after the interval.

Segun and Loizais dotted down again while Gair Currie, Ben Christie and Simon Pitfield also crossed while Loughborough’s fly-half Sharp accumulated 26 points for the afternoon.

Macc’s only positive moments came from the in-form Myles Hall and Thomas Mantell as they both touched down to earn a bonus-point for the visitors who at least had something to take away from a tough outing in the Midlands.

Rosslyn Park 33-0 Esher

Rosslyn Park’s excellent recent performances continued after earning this victory in the local derby against Esher at The Rock.

The hosts, who have now won three of their last four matches, were clinical in the first half and led 13-0 thanks to two Scott Sneddon penalties and a try from Ed Milne.

Rory Brand and Jamie Harries added to Park’s total after the break as did Sneddon from the tee before the fly-half had to be helped off with an injury leaving the home side without a kicker.

Esher tried to find a breakthrough in this contest, but their late pressure wasn’t rewarded and instead Park put the icing on the cake as Andrew Henderson dotted down to secure the bonus-point win for the home side.

Cambridge 36-0 Fylde

Cambridge produced arguably their best performance in National One this season as they eased to victory over Fylde at Volac Park.

Cambridge led 22-0 at half-time as the hosts scored tries through Lawrence Hutchinson, Ean Griffiths and Louis Rawlings.

The Blood and Sand had to stand firm in the opening 20 minutes of the second half as Fylde tried to work their way back into this game and even when Dan Seal was sin-binned for the hosts, the visitors just couldn’t put a dent in the red and yellow wall.

Ross Stewart’s then side saved their best moment of the match till the end as excellent build-up play resulted in James Ayrton scoring under the posts to wrap up the victory.

Blaydon 66-14 Hull Ionians

Blaydon are now just two points from safety in National One following a nine-try rout of Hull Ionians at Crow Trees.

Matt Thompson and Chris Wearmouth scored early tries and Blaydon finished the half strongly as Thompson completed his hat-trick and Jason Smithson went over while the hosts were also awarded a Penalty Try.

Blaydon led 36-0 at the break and Andrew Baggett went over for their seventh try of the afternoon three minutes after the interval.

The I’s then had three minutes where they had something to cheer about as leading try scorer Sam Wilson crossed twice, but that was as good as it got for Hull.

Andrew Lawson, Andrew Foster and Smithson again went over to complete the victory for a rampant Blaydon outfit.