Wharfedale target survival after win over Blackheath
Wharfedale moved five points clear of the drop zone with this win over Blackheath
©Wharfedale RFC
The title race and survival battle in National One took another twist this weekend as second placed Blackheath suffered a surprise defeat at the hands of a spirited Wharfedale side which allowed Hartpury College to take over second spot in the division.
The win for Dale meant they moved further away from the bottom three and also profited from the fact that none of the other bottom six sides picked up victories.
Elsewhere, the amazing run of victories continued for Darlington Mowden Park on Saturday as they have now gone 11 games without tasting defeat.
Richmond 25-8 Cinderford
League leaders Richmond were made to work hard for their victory against bottom side Cinderford on Saturday.
Cinderford were only 13-8 down at half-time despite being reduced to 13 men when Jack Adams and George Mills were yellow-carded just before the break. But the second period saw Richmond finish off the job efficiently as Charles Broughton and Timothy Walford both touched down to seal a bonus point win.
The win maintains Richmond’s six point gap at the top while Cinderford are now 12 points from safety with nine games remaining.
Wharfedale 21-15 Blackheath
After speaking to Wharfedale’s Matt Beesley in midweek, he highlighted that his side needed to show spirit and resolve to move away from the relegation zone and the Skipton based club did exactly that on Saturday.
Blackheath had led 11-12 at half-time thanks to tries from Scott Wright and David Allen before Dale upped their game in the second 40.
It took them until Cameron Hudson’s try on 73 minutes to get the crucial winning try and the victory leaves them five points from danger while Blackheath drop to third, but still have a game in hand.
Hartpury College 48-16 Henley Hawks
With Blackheath slipping up, Hartpury College made no mistake as they moved up to second place after their bonus point win over Henley Hawks.
The hosts fought hard to lead the game 15-9 at half-time thanks to tries from William Safe and Luke Eves along with a penalty from Gareth Thompson, before they hit top gear in the second period.
Their five tries which they scored were aided when Henley’s prop William Moss was shown two yellow cards, but nevertheless the scores from Mark Harrison, Benjamin Vellacott, Jonas Mikalcius, Nathan Taylor and James Stephenson wrapped up the win for College. The loss for Henley leaves them eight points from safety.
Plymouth Albion 16-5 Bladyon
Despite atrocious conditions on the coast, Plymouth secured their ninth win from their last 10 matches as they edged out a valiant Blaydon side who remain in the bottom three after this defeat.
After leading 11-5 on 51 minutes thanks to two penalties and a try from Matthew Shepard, Albion made the game safe with 60 seconds remaining when Cameron Setter crossed to leave the hosts fourth in the table and eight points behind Blackheath. As for Blaydon, they stay 14th and are now five points behind Wharfedale.
Hull Ionains 19-22 Esher
Esher scored three tries in the final half an hour to come back from 19-5 down clinch victory at Brantingham Park against Hull Ionains.
It has been a recurring theme that Hull Ionians haven’t been able to see out games this term and once again it happened this weekend after they led 12-5 at half-time thanks to a Penalty Try and a Joseph Maud score.
Joe Alott stretched the home sides lead on 51 minutes before a brace from winger Paul Olima and a try from Tom Williams turned the game on its head to seal the bonus point win for Esher.
The I’s are now 10 points above the relegation zone after this narrow loss while Esher are now level on points with Plymouth Albion.
Ampthill and District 21-5 Rosslyn Park
Ampthill and District produced a controlled performance against Rosslyn Park to stay sixth in the National One table.
The A’s led 5-0 at the break thanks to Karim Lynch’s try before three penalties from centre Elliott Clements-Hill along with a conversion from Lynch’s second score sealed a 12th win of the season for Ampthill who have enjoyed life in National One this term.
Loughborough Students 7-22 Darlington Mowden Park
Another week and another victory for Darlington Mowden Park as they extended their winning run to 11 matches in National One and in fact, it is the current longest victory streak across National One and both National Two leagues.
This game in the Midlands was level as the break with Students having the better of the first 40, but Park found their rhythm in the second half as Bruno Bravo and Oliver Hodgson secured the win for DMP who are now just four points behind Plymouth Albion while Students are seven points clear of the drop zone.
Fylde 25-14 Coventry
Fylde picked up a welcome victory at home on Saturday as they beat Coventry at Woodlands. This was Fylde’s fourth win of the season in front of their own supporters and it was effectively secured on 49 minutes after Oliver Brennand, Robert Stewart and Chris Bates all crossed along with a Chris Johnson penalty which gave the home side a 25-0 lead.
Thomas Precce and Scott Hamilton both scored for Coventry but it was too little too late as Fylde and Coventry swapped places in the table after this result.
