No shortage of drama across the National Leagues
Darlington Mowden Park made it 12 wins from 12 against Hartpury College this afternoon
©Andy Hall
In Round 22 across National One, National Two North and National Two South there were twists and turns in all three divisions at both ends of the table after another thrilling Saturday of rugby.
In National One, Darlington Mowden Park made it an incredible 12th win in a row against promotion candidates Hartpury College while Blaydon took a huge step towards safety after a comfortable win at home to Hull Ionians.
In National Two North, leaders Macclesfield left it late to beat relegation threatened Luctonians at home and Sedgley Park regained second spot after a professional display against Leicester Lions. Down at the bottom, South Leicester took the initiative in the fight for survival as they beat Broadstreet.
And in National Two South, Cambridge’s first half performance against Worthing was enough to extend their lead at the top of the table while Taunton ended Bishop Storford’s 100 per cent home record. Elsewhere, the Redingensians, Bury St Edmunds, Dorking and Chinnor all picked up wins in their race against drop leaving a couple of teams still firmly in the relegation dogfight.
National One
Richmond are now 10 points clear at the top of National One after a comfortable 0-36 win over Henley Hawks. The table toppers ran in six tries on their way to their 18th win of the season and cemented their place further at the summit of this division. As for Henley, they remain in 15th place and are now nine points from safety after a 15th loss of the campaign.
Blackheath have now regained second place after a 39-12 victory over Loughborough Students. After defeat to Wharefdale last Saturday, Club bounced back in front of their own supporters. They have a game in hand over Richmond, but they are still firmly in with a shot of winning promotion. In terms of Students, a third straight defeat now leaves them just two points clear of the relegation zone.
One of the other reasons why Blackheath moved up to second place this weekend was because Hartpury College were beaten 36-27 by Darlington Mowden Park who have now won 12 matches in a row. The loss for College means they are 10 points off the pace, while DMP are now sixth in the table and 11 points behind Hartpury. Their superb run continues.
Another side currently going through a purple patch are Plymouth Albion as they have now won 10 of their last 11 games, but they were made to work hard for their 22-34 win away at bottom club Cinderford. Albion are now seven points off second place after this win while another spirited performance from Cinderford didn’t produce any reward for them as they remain at the foot of National One and 14 points from safety.
Ampthill and District were made to work hard for their victory also as they edged out Wharefdale 35-29 at Dillingham Park. The A’s led throughout but ‘Dale never gave up the chase and deserved two bonus points and they stay out of the drop zone because of that. Ampthill stay fifth in the table after their 13th win of the season.
An enthralling battle in Surrey ended with Esher coming out on top against Fylde as the home side narrowly won 26-24. The game was in the balance throughout after Fylde led 13-12 at the break, but Esher slotted over a penalty late on to win this contest. Chris Johnson had a chance to snatch the victory for the visitors from the tee, but his kick sailed just wide. Esher are sixth in the table after this win while Fylde stay in ninth.
Elsewhere, Rosslyn Park beat Coventry 22-16 while Blaydon made a huge statement in terms of the relegation battle after thrashing Hull Ionians 35-7 in the north-east. Blaydon are just two points from safety after this bonus point win while the I’s slide further towards danger and are now five points clear of the drop.
National Two North
League leaders Macclesfield had to rely on a last gasp penalty from Lewis Barker to beat relegation threatened Luctonians 22-19 at Priory Park. The Lucts ran Macclesfield close throughout the afternoon which shows they are very capable of beating the drop this season. Barker nudged over the penalty two minutes from the end before the Luctonians were presented with an opportunity from the tee right at the death, but failed to save the draw.
Sedgley Park are up to second in National Two North after a commanding 30-5 win over Leicester Lions. This was Sedge’s first match in three weeks, but there was no sign of any rust as they came away from Park Lane with a bonus point win and are now 14 points behind Macc with a game in hand over the league leaders.
The win for Sedgley Park meant Stourbridge dropped down to third in the table despite beating bottom club Huddersfield 25-19 at Stourton Park. This victory for Stour arrested a three game losing streak while the bonus point for ‘Field leaves them 13 points from safety.
Caldy once again missed the opportunity to stake their claim for a play-off place as they were beaten at home by Otley. The Yorkshire side came away from the Wirral with a 10-15 victory which sees the men from Cross Green move to within seven points of Caldy after their first triumph on the road since November.
In the mid-table battle of the weekend, Harrogate came away from Chester with a 23-27 victory. This was ‘Gate’s 10th win of the season and they leapfrogged Chester into seventh in the league. As for Chester, this was their second defeat in three matches and they have now dropped down to 10th.
Preston Grasshoppers continued their fine form as they beat Tynedale 39-16 at Lightfoot Green. Hoppers have lost just one of their last 10 matches which has seen them move into the top half of the table, while Tynedale drop to 12th after their 12th defeat of the season.
A great try from Chris Mayor helped Sale FC to back to back wins as they won 26-20 over Sandal at Heywood Road. Sale have won seven of their 11 matches on home soil this term and their latest victory eases their relegation nerves further as they are now 11 points clear of the drop. In terms of Sandal, they have dropped into the bottom half of the table for the first time this season and have won just one of their last seven games.
South Leicester took a huge step towards safety as they narrowly beat Broadstreet 29-30 at the Ivor Preece Fields to move eight points clear of their Midlands rivals. ‘Street occupy the final relegation place, but fell to their 15th defeat of the season which could prove costly come the end of the season. A huge bonus point victory for South who ended a three game losing streak.
National Two South
Current leaders Cambridge had to see out a nervy final quarter of the match against Worthing Raiders on their way to a 28-22 win. The ‘Blood and Sand’ wrapped up a bonus point inside 13 minutes, but failed to add to their total for the reminder of the encounter. Worthing kept digging away and managed to save a losing bonus in the final play of the game. Cambridge are now seven points clear at the top of National Two South after Old Albanians’ game with Redruth was postponed.
Taunton Titans are now two points behind Bishops Stortford after a superb second half performance at Silver Leys. The Titians won 22-26 in a sensational contest which saw Stortford lose their first home game of the season. Taunton are still fourth in the league but are now right on the tails of Stortford who will feel it was an opportunity missed to pile the pressure on the Old Albanian in the play-off place.
The Old Elthamians produced a spirited last 20 minutes to snatch a 9-14 victory against relegation threatened Southend Saxons. Ben Hough scored a superb try on 79 minutes to seal the win which leaves the OE’s sixth in the table while the heartbroken Saxons are now five points from safety.
Barnes’ six game unbeaten run game to an end this Saturday as they were beaten 23-13 away at the Redingensians who have now won back to back games. The Rams’ two victories as seen them move away from the relegation zone and they are now two points clear of the bottom three. As for Barnes, they stay seventh after their first loss of 2016.
Clifton’s woeful form continued this weekend as they were beaten by Bury St Edmunds. Bury needed this win as they were on the edge of the bottom three and they do remain two points clear of the drop, but more importantly, they arrested a five game losing streak. As for Clifton, they have now won just two of their last 11 matches.
A Matthew Noble penalty denied bottom club Launceston just their second draw of the season as Dorking rescued an 11-8 victory at home. The game was level at 8-8 with minutes remaining before Noble kept his cool to clinch Dorking’s sixth win of the season and moves them a point clear of the bottom three. The losing bonus point for Launceston now means they stay winless this campaign and are now 33 points from safety with 10 games left to play.
And finally, Chinnor made it three wins in their last four as they beat Canterbury 39-26 to move level on points with the City Men. Chinnor are in the final relegation spot and are now neck and neck with Canterbury who are one place above them in the table.
