No mistakes made by front runners in National One
Plymouth Albion made a winning start to 2016 and have now won their last five matches
©Plymouth Albion RFC
The beginning of the second half of the season saw no upsets in National One as the form guide proved to be correct in Round 16.
All four of Richmond, Blackheath, Hartpury College and Esher won their respective matches with seven of the eight side in the bottom half all suffering defeats.
Hull Ionians 13-37 Richmond
League leaders Richmond began the New Year in exactly the right manner as they picked up a bonus point victory away at Hull Ionians.
Richmond were in control as they led 3-18 at half-time and they went on to seal the win and the bonus point thanks to tries from James Thompson, Samuel Stuart and Christopher Davies.This win keeps Richmond three points ahead of their nearest challengers Blackheath while Hull Ionians are now nine points clear of the danger zone after suffering their sixth straight defeat.
Cinderford 5-37 Blackheath
There was no shock either at Cinderford as Blackheath got their job done efficiently against the bottom side in the division as they secured their 13th win of the season.
Club were dominant throughout this contest and that was highlighted by their second half performance where they ran in four tries with centre Marcus Burcham completing his hat-trick.
This bonus point win for Blackheath keeps the pressure on Richmond while for Cinderford; they are now five points from safety.
Fylde 17-18 Hartpury College
It wasn’t as straight forward for Hartpury College as it was for Richmond and Blackheath as they needed a last minute penalty from Lloyd Evans to beat Fylde.
Tries from David Fairbrother and Oliver Brennand along with a penalty from Chris Johnson seemed to have given Paul Arnold’s men victory but late pressure paid off for Hartpury as Evans coolly landed a penalty to seal a win which leaves them five points behind Richmond.
Esher 25-10 Wharfedale
Like Hartpury College, Esher were unable to gain a bonus point, but they did pick up a vital win as they comfortably beat 15th placed Wharfedale.
Esher won this game after an excellent first half display which saw them score a Penalty Try and that was backed up with tries from Tom Yellowtrees and Ross Neale.
In fairness to ‘Dale, they performed much better in the second 40 and restricted Esher to just the three tries as the hosts went in search of a bonus point.
Rosslyn Park 24-26 Plymouth Albion
Plymouth Albion picked up from where they left off in 2015 as their fifth win in a row moved them up to fifth in the table after this victory over Rosslyn Park.
Albion raced into a 6-18 half-time lead thanks to tries from Harrison Cully and Ethan Ford with Billy Searle kicking the other eight points.
Park then responded after the break as they scored three tries, but Albion went over once more via Chris Judge as they held on for win.
Blaydon 12-19 Ampthill and District
Ampthill and District still don’t look out of place in National One as they produced another hard fought victory, this time against Blaydon.
The A’s led 0-19 at half-time thanks to Darrell Dyer scoring a brace and Gavin Williams also touching down, but they had to withstand a fightback from the home side in the second period as Jason Smithson and Frazer Wilson both crossed, but Ampthill saw the game out to seal the win.
This win for Ampthill moves them up to sixth place while Blaydon are still on the cusp of the drop zone in 13th and just one point clear of the bottom three.
Henley Hawks 11-19 Darlington Mowden Park
There was no Christmas hangover for Darlington Mowden Park as they secured their seventh win a row against a struggling Henley Hawks side.
DMP led 6-19 at half-time as Robert Conquest scored a double while Warren Seals also dotted down for the side from the north-east.
Henley scored just nine minutes into the second period via Liam O’Neil, but they just couldn’t push on from there as good defence from DMP clichéd them the win.
Coventry 37-12 Loughborough Students
Coventry ended a three gaming losing run as they began 2016 with a bonus point victory over Loughborough Students.
Coventry’s first half performance was the platform for their victory as tries from Peter Weightman, Alexander Woodburn and Devlin Hope gave them a 17-5 lead at the break.
The Blues continued to go through the gears in the second 40 as tries from Jacques Le Roux and Weightman again, secured the bonus point and ultimately the win for Coventry.
