Top four get jobs done in National One as title race heats up

Like in Round 16, the top four sides all did what they needed to do as the title race continues to gather momentum while the bottom three sides all lost their respective matches in what was a tight weekend of action in National One.

Richmond 22-21 Fylde

Richmond maintained their three point gap at the top of National One as they had to hold off a valiant fightback from their visitors Fylde. The hosts looked in control at half-time when they led 22-7 thanks to tries from Mateo Zambruno Marino, Thomas Sargeant and Christopher Davies, but were unable to add to their tally after the break as Fylde responded.

Tries from Scott Rawlings and Anthony Bingham set-up a grandstand finish, but the league leaders held out for the victory.

Away from the pitch, there were heroics on display by Fylde as scrum-half and doctor Greg Nicholls along with physios Greg Littler and Megan Stewart helped bring a woman back to life at Preston Train Station when they were travelling to this game against Richmond.

Nicholls and the team sprang into action on the railway station platform when the woman, who was due to board the same train as them, collapsed as she had suffered from a heart problem. Amazing actions by the Fylde team!

Blackheath 32-12 Henley Hawks

On the field, it wasn't straight forward for Blackheath either as they came back from 7-12 down to beat a Henley Hawks side fighting for survival. 

The Hawks led at the break thanks to scores from Liam O'Neil and Robert Bell, but Club hit back in the second half as David Allen crossed and Freddie Gabbitass landed two penalties to secure their 11th win of the season. This defeat for Henley leaves them five points from safety.

Hartpury College 26-17 Coventry

Hartpury College stay in third place and keep in touch with the top two after a hard fought win against Coventry. Robbie Shaw kicked 16 points for College to take the game away from the visitors who were ahead after 10 minutes when David Price went over. However,  too many errors allowed Hartpury an easy route back into the game and Coventry were punished dearly.

Loughborough Students 17-32 Esher

Esher once again showed why they are not out of this title race as they proved too strong for Loughborough Students.

The away side led 5-18 at the interval with tries coming from Harrison Collins and Spencer Sutherland and continued to go through the gears in the second period as Ian Kench and Paul Olima also went over to earn Esher a bonus point win. 

Esher are now 10 points behind Richmond  while Students are still sitting in a precarious position as they are five points clear of the danger zone after this defeat.

Ampthill and District 47-14 Cinderford

Ampthill and District made it four wins in a row as they eased to a bonus point win over bottom club Cinderford. The win moves them up to fifth in the table after they secured the bonus point inside the first 20 minutes of the match thanks to tries from Elliot Reeder, George Elliot, Jonathan Morgan and Mamma Molitika. 

Cinderford seemed to switch on after that, but it was always going to be an uphill task for them to claw back a 26-7 half-time deficit. This loss for Cinderford leaves them 10 points from safety and new coach Adam Balding knows he has a tough job on his hands over the next three months.

Darlington Mowden Park 17-10 Rosslyn Park

Darlington Mowden Park have now not lost since the beginning of November as they secured their eighth straight win after beating an inconsistent Rosslyn Park side. 

DMP were ahead 12-3 at half-time with tries coming from Robert Conquest and Bruno Bravo and their job was made easier when Rosslyn Park received two yellow cards in the final 10 minutes of the match. DMP are now up to sixth in the table while Rosslyn Park are down to eighth. Who would have predicted that at the beginning of the season!?

Plymouth Albion 7-17 Hull Ionians

Hull Ionians ended a six game losing streak by beating an in-form Plymouth Albion side away from home in terrible conditions.

The I's played the weather conditions much better and raced into a 0-17 lead thanks to scores from Joseph Makin, Aquile Smith and Chris Eggleshaw and Albion had to wait for the final 10 minutes to score, but it was too little too late.

Albion are now down to seventh after the lose while Hull Ionians are 13 points clear of the bottom three after this crucial win.

Wharfedale 13-27 Blaydon

Blaydon are now five points clear of the relegation zone as their first half performance against Wharfedale set the platform up for their fifth win of the campaign.

The visitors made an electric start as they led 21-8 at half-time with Brett Connon slotting three penalties and William Witty and Jason Smithson going cover.

Connon continued to be accurate from the tee after the break as he landed two more penalties  to wrap up victory for Blaydon. The defeat for 'Dale leaves them in 15th place and six points from safety.