Twists and turns in the title race

League leaders Richmond could only manage a draw away at Coventry this weekend as they moved five points clear at the top of National One, but that is only half of the story.

Second placed Blackheath weren’t in action on Saturday as their game against Darlington Mowden Park was postponed so they now know they can go top of the league if they picked up a bonus point win from that game in hand.

With Richmond and Blackheath not gaining a huge about of ground this weekend, Hartpury College passed up the chance to capitalise on that as they fell to defeat against Esher which puts the fourth placed side firmly back in the title hunt.

Elsewhere, Ampthill made it five wins in a row, Plymouth Albion scored three tries in the final seven minutes to come away with a win against Fylde, Rosslyn Park breezed past Hull Ionians while Cinderford and Wharfedale shared the points in their relegation battle.

Blaydon v Loughborough students was also postponed.

Coventry 21-21 Richmond

League leaders Richmond had to come from behind to earn a draw against Coventry in a pulsating encounter at the Butts Park Arena.

Replacement Jamie Gibbs secured two points for Richmond after his try seven minutes from the end in a game where the table toppers were behind for the majority.

Jack Allcock opened the scoring for Richmond against an injury hit home side, before Coventry responded to gain a 14-7 lead at the break.

Matthew Price touched before Gaton Mieres produced a devastating run to dive over and give the Blues the advantage.

An early second half yellow card to Richmond’s Ross Grimstone allowed Coventry to extend their lead as they were eventually awarded a Penalty Try before Richmond bucked up their ideas and clawed their way back into the game.

Chris Davies started their fightback with a try on 56 minutes, but resolute defending from Coventry restricted Richmond to only one more try which was scored by Gibbs to level things up and ultimately share the spoils in the Midlands.

Esher 24-14 Hartpury College

Hartpury College failed to take advantage of Richmond dropping points as they were beaten by fourth placed Esher who are now only a point behind College in the table.

The home side held a 7-0 lead at the break thanks to try from Spencer Sutherland.

After half-time, a penalty from Paul Roberts and a try from Ian Kench stretched Esher’s lead and when Stephan Page was sin-binned for College, the hosts made it 18-0 when Roberts nudged over his second three pointer.

Kench was then yellow-carded for the home side and this time it was Hartpury’s turn to take advantage as the highly rated Jonas Mikalcius got their first try of the afternoon.

Harrison Collins then joined Kench in the sin-bin meaning Esher were down to 13 men, but Roberts gave them a 14 point lead with nine minutes remaining after another penalty.

College once again capitalised on the extra players as centre Steven Leonard spotted a gap to touch down, but Alistair Chisholm slotted over a penalty for the hosts to seal the victory.

Henley Hawks 16-38 Ampthill & District

Ampthill and District made it five wins in a row with this bonus point win over a struggling Henley Hawks side that are five points from safety in 15^th place.

The A’s just about had the egde at half-time after a try by Robert Bell and two penalties from Basil Strang were cancelled out by converted scores from Maxwell Wilkins and Matthew Burke.

The away side then took control after the break as they ran in four more tries through Ralph-Adam Hale, Gavin Williams and a brace form Syndey Blackmore to wrap up the win and move them to within four points of Esher with a game in hand.

Fylde 26-38 Plymouth Albion

Plymouth Albion scored three tries in the final seven minutes to complete a remarkable comeback as they came away from Lancashire with a 26-38 victory.

Fylde had led 26-10 at the break thanks to a brace from Scott Rawlings and tries from Oliver Brennand and Alexander Loney with Plymouth’s points coming via Daniel Collier’s score and a penalty from Billy Searle.

The home side looked comfortable for the first 20 minutes of the second period, but after the hour, the game was turned on its head.

Firstly, Michael Stupple dotted down before Fylde pressed the self-destruct button.  They gifted Nile Darces his try and were then left helpless as Marc Koteczky and Matthew Shepherd both crossed to complete an unlikely fightback.

Rosslyn Park 49-0 Hull Ionians

Rosslyn Park halted a three game losing run with a hammering over Hull Ionians at Priory Lane.

Will Crow, David Vincent, Mark Kohler and Hugo Ellis all scored doubles on their way to victory as they ripped their visitors to shreds.

The I’s had no answer throughout and after their impressive win against Plymouth Albion last week, this was a huge reality check for the Yorkshire side. As for Rosslyn, they are now up to seventh after this win.

Cinderford 26-26 Wharfedale

In the crucial game at the bottom of the table, Cinderford v Wharfedale ended as a draw which is not the ideal result for either side, but both teams earned three points.

The game was level at half-time as tries from George Mills and Marcus Brown were cancelled out by Wharfedale’s William Bell and a Penalty Try.

The lead changed hands throughout the second half, but with no side able to pull clear in this encounter, it came down to a try from Chris Horwick four minutes from time for ‘Dale which James Guy converted for a share of the points.