Cinderford and Hartpury College secure crucial wins
Round 23 saw Cinderford hand themselves a survival lifeline as victory over Hull Ionians added another twist to the relegation fight, while Blackheath’s title ambitions suffered a major setback.
Club were beaten by Hartpury College who have now moved up to second place leaving Blackheath with a lot of work to do if they are to be crowned champions at the end of April.
Richmond 14-7 Darlington Mowden Park
League leaders Richmond produced another champions elect performance as they ended Darlington Mowden Park’s 12 game winning run with this narrow home win.
Richmond were the last side to beat DMP before this weekend and in tough conditions on Saturday, took the initiative in the first-half as Chris Davies and Rory Damant both touched down for the home side. Park came back stronger in the second 40, but could only manage a try via Tomas Appleton five minutes from the end.
The win for Richmond sees them maintain their 10 point gap at the top while Darlington remain seventh but are now six points off the top four.
Hartpury College 15-9 Blackheath
Hartpury College moved up to second place and are now the clear challengers to Richmond after edging out fellow promotion rivals Blackheath.
Club actually held a narrow 0-6 half-time lead thanks to two penalties from Freddie Gabbitass before it was dissolved as College hit back. Tries from Daniel Thomas and James Forrester turned the game in the home sides favour and ultimately gave them this vital win in the promotion chase.
College are 10 points behind Richmond while Blackheath are 13 points adrift of the leaders, but they still do have that game in hand; coming this weekend away against Darlington Mowden Park.
Plymouth Albion 27-8 Henley Hawks
Plymouth Albion’s fine form continued on Saturday as a bonus point win over relegation threatened Henley Hawks saw the home side secure their 11th win from their last 12 matches.
The hosts were reduced to 14 men on 21 minutes when centre Marc Koteczky was red-carded but that didn’t affect Plymouth as they carried a 10-8 lead into half-time thanks to a Nile Decres try and five points from the boot of Matthew Shepard.
Albion then took control after the break as a brace from Ethan Ford and a score via Robin Wedlake-Millecham gave them the win which moves them to within 16 points of Richmond while defeat for Henley leaves them nine points from safety.
Coventry 12-13 Esher
For the second time in two weeks, a late Alastiar Chisholm penalty clinched Esher victory an on this occasion, it was against Coventry at the Butts Park Arena.
The full-back snatched a win for his side last week at home against Fylde and he did the same on Saturday with the final kick of the game. His opposite number, Clifford Hodgson had given Coventry a 9-3 half-time lead from the tee before adding to his tally after the break to extend the home sides advantage.
However, a Cameron Leigh try for Esher set-up up a grandstand finish and Chisholm kept his cool from 45m out to seal victory for his side right at the death
Loughborough Students 19-21 Ampthill and District
More late drama occurred at Loughborough Students on Saturday as William Maisey scored a late try which he converted to give Ampthill and District victory in the Midlands.
An entertaining first half saw Students lead 16-5 at the break thanks to tries from William Edwards and Josh Sharp with Thomas James also slotting two penalties. However, Ampthill hit back in the form of Maisey after half-time as three penalties saw them move to within five points of their hosts before he dotted down the crucial try with the final play of the game.
Maisey then kept calm under pressure to complete the comeback and seal the victory for the A’s while this defeat for Students leaves them just two points ahead of the relegation zone.
Wharfedale 15-27 Rosslyn Park
Rosslyn Park came from 15-3 down at half-time to clinch victory over a Wharfedale side that are really showing fighting spirit as they look to fend off relegation this term.
‘Dale controlled the first half as a brace from Chris Howick and five points from the boot of James Guy gave them the advantage at the break before Park turned the game on its head.
Their comeback was led by fly-half and stand in coach Scott Sneddon who kicked seven second-half points as well as scoring a try. That was backed up by a Penalty Try and a score from Hugo Ellis to give Park their second win in a row since James Buckland was relieved of his duties as Head Coach. The defeat for Wharfedale leaves them only one point ahead of the drop zone.
Fylde 10-8 Blaydon
Fylde were on the right end of a close score line on the weekend as they came from behind to beat Blaydon who remain a point adrift of safety after this defeat.
The north-east side led 5-0 at the break with their try coming from hooker Victor Guignouard before Fylde took the lead just after the interval as Phil Mills barged his way over with Chris Johnson converting.
A yellow card to Jordan Dorrington allowed Blaydon to re-take the lead with a penalty before Johnson restored Fylde’s advantage 10 minutes from the end with a penalty of his own to secure the win. A losing bonus point is certainly something Blaydon will take from this game as it could be invaluable at the end of the season.
Hull Ionians 24-28 Cinderford (video)
Cinderford have given themselves some hope in the relegation battle as they beat Hull Ionians at Brantingham Park.
The hosts were 17-7 ahead at half-time thanks to a hat-trick from winger Aquile Smith, who quickly followed it up by a fourth try early in the second half. However, Cinderford showed the grit and character which is need in a relegation fight as they went on to score three tries in the final 13 minutes of the match to complete a remarkable comeback.
A try from Matthew Lane and a double from Samuel Hanks, with Chris Eden converting all three scores, was enough to clinch a crucial win for the leagues bottom club who are nine points from safety with seven games to play. As for Hull Ionians, they have won only one of their last 13 games and are now six points clear of the danger zone.
