Promotion chasers make no mistake in National Two South

At this time of the season, any blip in form and any shock result could prove costly but as we begin the final stretch of the campaign, the teams aiming for a top two spot all held their nerve in Round 21.

League leaders Chinnor survived a scare against Barnes to stay top of the pile and Matt Williams’ men continue to have Bishop’s Stortford breathing down their necks after their win over Barnstaple.

Below the top two, third placed Redruth made it a super six at home to Bury St Edmunds in tough conditions, Old Elthamians returned to winning ways while Taunton Titans kept themselves in the hunt.

At the wrong end of the table, seven of the bottom eight sides all fell to defeats with Clifton being the only team to secure a victory.

Chinnor 24-17 Barnes

A last-gasp try from Danny Barnes helped Chinnor remain on top of National Two South as they snatched victory away from Barnes.

Jamie Collins opened the scoring for the visitors, but Chinnor led 12-7 at half-time thanks to tries from Bev Armitage and Jamie Townsend.

Townsend’s try came after Robbie Martey was red-carded for Barnes following a high-tackle and it looked like it would be a tough second period for the away side against the league leaders.

However, Barnes battled back into this contest as a Tom O’Toole penalty was followed by a score from the fly-half and to the surprise of everyone at Kingsey Road, the visitors found themselves 17-12 ahead with 15 minutes remaining.

Chinnor’s unbeaten record was on the line and the hosts needed to dig deep which they managed do. Replacement Tom Burns dived over to level the scores up and there was to be one final twist in this dramatic contest.

Firstly, O’Toole missed a penalty to wrap up a superb win for his team and Chinnor made the visitors pay as Barnes dotted down a minute from the end to clinch the win for Matt Williams’ side.

Bishop’s Stortford 35-12 Barnstaple

Bishop’s Stortford remain level on points with Chinnor at the top of National Two South as they comfortably beat Barnstaple at Silver Leys.

A Will Roberts try gave Stortford an early lead before a try and a penalty from Tom Banks helped move the hosts 14-0 ahead.

Barnstaple replied thanks to a Jordan Petherbridge close-range try, but the home side held a nine point lead at the break.

Another Banks try extended Stortford’s advantage and their lead was stretched further when Nick Hankin crossed inside the first 10 minutes of the second period.

Ashlee Crouch got one back for Barum, but any hopes of a losing bonus-point were ended when Will Simmonds’ crashed over to wrap up the win for Stortford.

Redruth 10-3 Bury St Edmunds

Redruth secured their sixth league victory in a row thanks to this hard-fought win over Bury St Edmunds at the Recreation Ground.

The Reds ensured that their winning streak continued thanks to early first-half tries from Tommy Phillips and Shaun Buzza.

Both of Redruth’s tries came as a result of yellow-cards to Bury as Sean Stapleton and Sam Bixby were dismissed minutes before the home sides’ scores.

Bury’s points came via the boot of Scott Lyle in the second-period on a difficult afternoon for the Suffolk side who have now lost their last four matches.

London Irish Wild Geese 14-43 Old Elthamians

Old Elthamians returned to winning ways in style as they scored six tries to secure a bonus-point victory over London Irish Wild Geese.

This was a crucial triumph for OEs who remain firmly in the hunt for promotion and the title thanks to this win.

The visitors were ahead at half-time as tries from Max Wilkins and Harry Ledger (twice) gave them a 22-7 lead, with Andy Jones going over for Wild Geese.

But despite a try from George Owen just after the hour, Nathan Morris as well as Alex Brown and Wilkins again touched down unanswered to secure OEs’ 16^th win of the season.

Taunton Titans 30-5 Canterbury

Taunton Titans eased their way to a bonus-point win at Hyde Park against Canterbury which leaves them six points behind league leaders Chinnor.

This win for Tony Yapp’s side is their 14^th of the season and they are still firmly in the mix for a possible top two finish in April.

Oliver Massy-Birch’s clever try as well a penalty from Gary Kingdom and scores via Jon Gatford and Sam Prior gave the Titans a 20-0 lead at the break.

Canterbury sparked into life at the beginning of the second period as Kieran Thompson went over in the corner. The City Men then had a period of sustained pressure, but they couldn’t add to their tally as Taunton took control of this contest once again.

Freddie Fraser sealed the bonus-point for the home side before Arron Gibbs put the icing on the cake for Taunton with a try late on.

Henley Hawks 17-20 Cinderford

Cinderford recorded their sixth victory on the bounce thanks to this narrow win over Henley Hawks at Dry Leas.

James Moffat landed two first-half penalties to George Jackson’s one successful attempt to give the Gloucestershire outfit a slender lead at the break, despite Henley dominating territory in the opening period.

Rob Bell scored the first try of this contest on 55 minutes, before Cinderford came back in a frantic final 10 minutes.

Jack Williams dotted down for the visitors, but their lead didn’t last long as Joe Butler crashed over to make it 17-13 to Henley.

Cinderford needed to dig deep as the game approached its conclusion and they were able to fashion one more chance from a line-out which allowed Sam Goatley to dive over.

Eamonn Rees converted, but the men from Dockham Road were in for a nervy finish as Henley were awarded a penalty, but Jackson’s effort was off target.

Redingensians 43-21 Exmouth

Redingensians kicked off February with a dominant home victory against Exmouth at Old Bath Road.

Scores from Dan Barnes, Steve Bryant, Jak Rossiter and Greg Illingworth helped the hosts into a 29-14 half-time lead, with Milo Reynolds and James Harris crossing for Exmouth.

Rossiter and Issac Dalton exchanged tries before the hour, but despite Redingensians creating numerous chances, they could only add one more score to their total as Conor Corrigan dotted down to round off proceedings.

Worthing Raiders 11-15 Clifton

A late try from Christopher Rovery saw Clifton come from behind to beat Worthing Raiders and inflict a ninth successive loss on the hosts.

Worthing, who avoided relegation last season and may well have to battle to safety again this term, led 8-7 at half-time after Grant Gartford’s try and Matt McLean’s penalty.

Finlay Sharp had crossed for Clifton in the first period, but his side fell further behind after the interval as McLean slotted over his second penalty of the afternoon.

But, Clifton responded through a Bradley Barnes penalty to reduce the deficit to just a point and the visitors then snatched the victory at the death as Rovery crashed over.