Richmond secure promotion while Wharfedale and Cinderford are relegated

Richmond clinched the National One title and promotion to the Championship following victory over Hartpury College in Round 28 while Wharfedale and Cinderford had their fates sealed with relegation to National Two now confirmed.

The league leaders Richmond knew they just needed to beat second placed Hartpury College to secure their place in the second tier of English rugby and they got the job done in an enthralling encounter.

Down at the bottom, Wharfedale and Cinderford knew that defeats against Hull Ionians and Rosslyn Park would end their time in National One and both sides were unable to get their desired result meaning they will join Henley Hawks in their respective National Two divisions next term.

Hartpury 29-33 Richmond

Richmond secured the National One title and promotion to the Championship following this win over promotion rivals Hartpury College in a thrilling contest.

Richmond knew they needed to just win this match against their nearest challengers to be crowned champions and they duly delivered.

The league leaders were ahead 19-15 at half-time with Charles Broughton and Samuel Stuart crossing for the away side while Robert Kirby landed three penalties.

Jake Polledri and Jonas Mikalcius both touched down for Hartpury in the first period and the hosts took the lead after the break when James Stevenson went over on 54 minutes.

Both sides then exchanged tries before Thomas Sargent scored the decisive try for Richmond 11 minutes from the end to seal them the title. Richmond now can enjoy the final two games of the season and with just three defeats to their name this term, they fully deserve their promotion to the third tier of English rugby.

As for Hartpury, this was another strong season for them and now their focus will be on finishing in the top two and building again for the next campaign.

Ampthill and District 25-21 Fylde

A late try from Ma’ama Molitika secured third placed Ampthill and District victory over Fylde at Dillingham Park.

The Lancashire side made life uncomfortable for the hosts who were only able to carry a 10-7 lead into the break due to Fylde’s good defensive work.

Fylde made a positive start to the second period with Paul Arnold crashing over before Elliot Clements-Hill crossed for Ampthill to make it 20-14.

Sydney Blackmore was yellow carded for Ampthill six minutes from time and with the man advantage, Oliver Brennand touched down to give Fylde the lead. However, the A’s never gave up and broke Fylde hearts as Molitika powered his way over to snatch the win for his side.

Blackheath 20-20 Coventry

Blackheath saw a 14 point lead slip in the second half as Coventry came from behind to grab a share of the points in this contest.

Club had led 17-3 at half-time thanks to tries from David Allen and Fredrick Owens as well as penalty from Freddie Gabbitass with Caolan Ryan replying from the tee for Coventry just before the break.

A yellow card shown to Blackheath’s Samuel Eydmann seemed to spark Coventry into life as George Oliver scored their first try of the afternoon to reduce Blackheath’s lead to seven points.

Markus Burcham was then sin-binned for Blackheath meaning they were down to 13 men for a short period of time before it was 14 v 14 when Chad Thorne was yellow-carded for Coventry.

Gabbitass made it 20-10 on the hour mark with his second penalty of the afternoon, but it was Coventry who fought back as tries from Robert Knox and Dominic Lespierre almost won it for them, but they were unable to covert either of their tries.

Coventry are on a four game unbeaten run and after Plymouth Albion’s points deduction for going into administration, the Blues are now eighth in the table.

Loughborough Students 24-28 Plymouth Albion

It has been a tough couple of weeks for Plymouth Albion due to their point’s deduction and administration, but once again they let their rugby do the talking as they picked up a 20^th win of the season away at Loughborough Students.

Students went into the game still not safe from relegation, but due to the defeats for Wharfedale and Cinderford, it meant that this loss for Loughborough would not be as damaging as first thought.

Albion were in complete control of this contest at half-time thanks to a brace from Robin Wedlake-Millecham and 10 points from the boot of Matthew Shepherd, but they then lost four players to yellow cards in the second period.

Marc Koteczky, Nile Decres,  Billy Searle ad Shepard were all sin-binned during the second-half which allowed Loughborough to fight back.

Jack Wardle and Blair Hutchinson both crossed for the hosts to reduce Plymouth’s lead to just four points, but Albion held on for the win.

Darlington Mowden Park 27-13 Esher

After losing out to Coventry last weekend, Darlington Mowden Park returned to winning ways and moved into the top five with this win over Esher.

Early tries from Jake Henry and Talite Vailoleti was the perfect start for DMP, but yellow cards shown to Gareth Nesbit and Vailoleti allowed Esher to gain a foothold in the contest.

Andrew Garner and Tom Williams both crossed to move Esher to within seven points of their hosts, but DMP were able to steady the ship as Matt Walsh scored a late try to seal the win.

Rosslyn Park 43-10 Cinderford

Cinderford knew heading into this contest with Rosslyn Park that they couldn’t afford to lose this fixture and unfortunately for them, they fell to their 21^st defeat of the season which signalled the end of their time in National One.

Rosslyn Park once again showed their class in the second half of this season as they ran in four tries in the opening 30 minutes of this encounter to secure the bonus-point. Edward Milne and Thomas Whiteley both crossed twice as Cinderford were unable to muster up a significant response.

It got worse for the visitors after the break as Matthew Hawke scored a brace while is centre partner Paul MacKay also dotted down to rub salt in the Cinderford wounds and seal their fate.

Wharfedale 10-18 Hull Ionians

The final relegation spot in National One was also confirmed on Saturday as Wharfedale’s home defeat to Hull Ionians meant their time was up in the third tier of English rugby.

‘Dale have been in this league for the last two decades and they found themselves 6-0 behind in this contest at half-time with Greg Lound landing two penalties for Hull Ionians.

The home side then went ahead on 64 minutes thanks to a James Guy penalty and a try from Cameron Hudson.

Wharfedale received a yellow card four minutes later and that ultimately cost them the win and their place in National One as the I’s turned the game on its head.

A Penalty Try and a score from Joseph Makin was enough for Hull Ionians to clinch a crucial win which keeps them in National One following promotion from National Two North last term.

Henley Hawks 31-20 Blaydon

Despite already having their relegation confirmed, there was something to cheer about for Henley Hawks this weekend as they showed great spirit to beat Blaydon at Dry Leas.

The game was level at 5-5 at half-time with Liam O’Neil and James Smithson exchanging scores before the Hawks ran in four second half tries.

David Clements, Alan Awock, Connor Dolan and Curtis Landon all crossed to pick up a rare bonus-point win for Henley who will be keen to end their time in National One on a high.