National One: Esher go top after Hartpury suffer defeat

For the fourth time this season we have new leaders at top of National One as Esher took advantage of Hartpury’s defeat to Blackheath.

There are now just four points which separate the top six in this division and with just one promotion spot up for grabs, expect that gap to stay consistent throughout the season.

Also, there were important wins for Blaydon and Cinderford down at the bottom of the table.

Esher 46-5 Coventry

In the week, TRU spoke to Esher’s Harrison Collins who believed that being consistent would be key to any success his side has this season and this latest win over Coventry is now their fifth straight victory.

Esher proved too strong for Coventry who have suffered some injuries of late, but they are a side that really haven’t been playing to their potential so far this season.

Spencer Sutherland was the star performer for Esher as he scored four tries throughout the afternoon with Harlequins man Stanley South scoring a double in the first half. This win for Esher took them top while Coventry languish in 9^th.

Blackheath 13-12 Hartpury College

Blackheath made a real statement of intent as they kept up their fine form to condemn Hartpury College to only their second defeat of the season.

The win came via a last minute Penalty Try with Freddie Gabbitass kicking the other eight points for the hosts. Two tries from Daniel Thomas put Hartpury 6-12 ahead on 52 minutes, but Blackheath showed great character to move 2^nd with this win, while Hartpury are now 3^rd.

Darlington Mowden Park 21-22 Richmond

Richmond just about maintained their good recent form as they snatched a late victory away at Darlington Mowden Park thanks to a try from Charles Lenygon six minutes from the end.

The home side had led 21-15 heading into the final 10 minutes thanks to tries from Robert Conquest and Warren Seals with 11 points coming from the boot of Garry Law. This defeat for DMP leaves them 1 point above the drop zone, while Richmond find themselves a single point off the top.

Ampthill and District 21-19 Loughborough Students

Ampthill and District were made to work hard for their sixth win of the season as they managed to see off a spirited Loughborough Students side who missed out on a draw right at the death of this contest.

The visitors led 0-7 at the break with George De Cothi crossing, but three quick fire tries from Elliot Clements-Hill, Darrell Dyer and Matthew Burke looked to have taken the wind out of the Loughborough sails.

However, the away side weren’t finished yet as Rotimi Segun crossed a minute after Burke’s try and Yiannis Loizias dotted down two minutes from the end, but a missed conversion denied them a share of the points. Even though this was an excellent performance, Students are now bottom of the division.

Rosslyn Park 26-15 Wharfedale

Rosslyn Park kept in touch with the front runners thanks to a bonus point win against Wharfedale. The away side led 7-10 at the interval thanks to a Huw Morgan try and a James Guy penalty, but a yellow card shown to Harry Skelton at the start of the second period allowed Park back into the encounter.

Hugo Ellis, Thomas Whiteley and Adam Field ran in tries which secured the victory and moved Park to within a win of the top as Wharfedale moved closer to the relegation places.

Henley Hawks 3-36 Plymouth Albion

Plymouth Albion look like a team who are going through the gears at the moment as they comfortably beat Henley Hawks who have the worst defensive record in the division.

Albion got the job done in the first half as they ran in five tries scored by Bille Searle (2), Thomas Bedford, Ethan Ford and Thomas Putt which sees them move into 7^th while Henley are just four points clear of the danger zone.

Cinderford 32-19 Hull Ionains

Cinderford picked up their second win of the season against Hull Ionians. Nevarro Codlin scored the crucial try for the hosts after a commanding first half display put them in a great positon for victory.  Cinderford are just one point behind 13^th place now while the I’s sit mid-table.

Blaydon 34-17 Fylde

While Cinderford secured a pivotal win, Blaydon did exactly the same as they moved off the foot of the table with this triumph over Fylde. The away side looked like they might run away with the game as they scored two tries through Oliver Brennand and Chris Johnson inside the first five minutes, but ill-discipline cost them this game.

David Fairbrother was sin-binned on 29 minutes, but Fylde when were then permanently reduced to 14 men when Mark Goodman was sent-off four minutes before half-time.

Blaydon took advantage of that as they scored 17 unanswered points in the second half with tries coming from Ruaridh Dawson and Gavin Jones while 7 points were kicked by Brett Connon.