National League 2 South - 13 From 13
Bishops Stortford are back in the top four
©Bishops Stortford
It was a solid performance from the top four this weekend in National Two South as they all picked up victories and with that came, no change at the top as Henley Hawks made it 13 wins in a row on Saturday. Also there were a few upsets across this league this weekend.
Coach’s view - Steve Larkins, Redruth’s Head Coach:
"We were disappointing in a few areas but we were beaten by a better side today. They are the best side we’ve played this season, well-balanced and they finished well.
"This week in training we will get back to it and concentrate on the things we know we need to put right."
The Hawks maintained their 100 per cent record this season after beating Shelford 21-59 in a nine try demolition. A hat-trick from Oskar Hirskyj-Douglas helped the league leaders on their way as the visitors looked to run with the ball at every opportunity which set the tone from the first whistle. Henley remain five points clear of nearest rivals Dorking and Shelford are now bottom of the table with one win in their last eight matches.
Dorking continue to apply as much pressure as they can on Henley as the second placed side showed their promotion credentials once again with a 12-38 win over Redruth. It was a rare five tries to two home defeat for The Reds as Dorking scored four wonderful second half tries.
There was confusion with the shirts as there was a colour clash and Dorking even refused to wear Redruth’s alternative shirt so ended up playing with their shirts inside out and felt-tip numbers drawn on the back! This did not affect their performance in the slightest though as they have now won 12 matches in a row and are still unbeaten on the road this season. This was just Redruth’s second defeat at home this season and they now lie in 9th position.
Third-placed Taunton ended a three game losing streak in style as they won 49-17 against Lydney at Hyde Park. Taunton have lost just once at home this season and with this home win remain third in the table and are nine points behind Dorking. As for Lydney they are still yet to win on the road this campaign having now lost all six of their matches. They lie 13th in the table with one win in their last four matches.
Bishop’s Stortford
returned to the top four immediately after dropping out of it last weekend as they beat Chinnor 25-20 in an excellent encounter at Silver Lays. The hosts were behind at half-time, but scored two tries in three minutes to help them on their way to an important victory. The home side showed great character and discipline in defence to claim their first win in three matches and their second in a row against Chinnor. The visitors moved down to fifth in the table, but are just three points behind Stortford.
Worthing Raiders’ is good recent form came to an end on Saturday as they were beaten 24-28 at home by Dings Crusaders who before the start of play were bottom of the division. Worthing didn’t show any of the positives which they have produced in recent weeks and Dings capitalised on that. It looked a foregone conclusion that the Raiders would triumph in this match considering Dings hadn’t won away all season, so this was a blow for the home sides’ top four aspirations. Worthing stay sixth, but Dings move off the bottom and are one point ahead of Shelford.
Coach’s View - Neil Bayliss, DoR Cornish All Blacks:
"This was the first time we’ve played Elthamians and in the first half the teams cancelled each other out. We played for position and took the penalties as they came.
"In the second half, although our yellow card didn’t help, our character came good. Our mauling towards the end was outstanding and we deserved the win."
There was another shock result on Saturday as the Cornish All Blacks defeated the Old Elthamians 18-20 at Queen Mary’s Sports Ground. The home side led 18-6 with five minutes left, but then the game was turned on its head. Two quick fire converted tries for the All Blacks saw them claim an unlikely victory in this first meeting between the two sides and piece the hearts of the OE’s players.
The home side have now only won one of their last six games and are seventh in the table while the All Blacks are now on a two game winning run after just one win in seven matches. They moved up to 10th with this victory.
Cambridge lost for the second week running as they were edged out 12-9 by Clifton. Heading into this game both sides were level on points but it was the hosts who ended their run of one win in their last five matches to move back into the top half of the table. As for Cambridge, having been on a three game winning run, they are back down to 11th with this defeat.
And finally, after last week’s win over the Old Elthamians, it has been a difficult week for the Southend Saxons and it was made worse as they were beaten 29-10 by Canterbury. Southend were deducted five points in the week for fielding an unregistered player in their defeat to Clifton two weeks ago and came away from Canterbury frustrated at what the Saxons’ website describes as a one dimensional performance.
In terms of Canterbury, they seem to be a different side at home as they claimed a fourth win at Merton Lane which they thoroughly deserved. This was their second win on the trot against Southend as well. Canterbury move up to 12th, whilst Southend are now just three points off the bottom.
