Check out all the action from the final weekend of action in National One.
Exeter 31 (Tries: Thomas 2, Yapp, Vaili, Willis. Cons: Yapp 3.)
Bristol 19 (Try: El Abd. Con: Davey. Pens: Gray 4.)
Exeter Chiefs ended the season with a home win over Bristol Shoguns securing all five points on offer with a late fourth try.
Flanker Gary Willis had given them an early lead with a fourth minute try, which Tony Yapp failed to convert.
Danny Gray kicked a couple of penalties for the visitors to go 6-5 ahead after 12 minutes. The match changed late in the first half with scrum half Hayden Thomas going over in the 37th minute and three minutes later Yapp also crossed the Shoguns line and this time converted as well for a 17-6 lead.
Six minutes into the second half and Gray kicked a third penalty goal for the visitors. But a minute later and Exeter had a third try with flanker Siaosi Vaili going over and with Yapp adding the extras they were 24-9 ahead.
Gray added a fourth penalty on 53 minutes and then with four minutes of normal time left they were back in it. Openside flanker Joe El Abd went over for a try and with Brett Davey converting they were within five of the Chiefs. A second Thomas try though saw the home side home and the extra bonus point was picked up.
Worcester 49 (Tries: Garrard 2, O’Leary, Hayes, Trueman, Hinshelwood, Cole. Cons: Hayes 7.)
Pertemps Bees 31 (Tries: Jenner, D Knight, Fakatou, Richardson, Baxter. Cons: Woodrow 3.)
Party time at Sixways in front over a bumper 6025 crowd as Worcester played their last National One before the step up to the Premiership next season.
They started well and were 21-0 ahead on 33 minutes and a big win seemed on the cards but the Bees had other ideas and a couple of tries before half time saw them back into the game at 21-12 down.
In the second half Worcester only out scored the Bees four tries to three but with Tommy Hayes converting all seven on them they finished 18 points ahead. Winger Chris Garrard bagged a brace.
Henley Hawks 23 (Tries: James 2, Osman. Con: Reeves. Pens: Reeves 2.)
Bedford Blues 15 (Tries: Baird, Hinkins. Con: Hepher. Pen: Hepher.)
Henley Hawks got the win they needed to secure their own National One status rather than rely on other results, always the best ploy!
Centre Russell Osman got them off to a good start with a fifth minute try, which Barry Reeves converted. Six minutes later though and Bedford Blues, with a huge travelling support, were level with centre Paul Baird going over and Ali Hepher converting. Reeves added penalties on 14 and 29 minutes to move 13-7 ahead. The game though was won in the final 10 minutes of the half with centre Ali James claiming a brace of tries, which saw Henley move into a 23-7 lead.
In the second half Bedford kicked a penalty five minutes in but that was the end of the scoring till deep into injury time when right wing James Hinkins went over for an unconverted try but by then the match was won and Henley were looking forward to another season of National League One rugby.
Wakefield 11 (Try: Wainwright. Pens: Murphy 2.)
Coventry 15 (Tries: Perry, Cannon. Con: Cull. Pen: Cull.)
The match of the day went down to the wire but at the end of it Wakefield were relegated and Coventry survived by point’s difference.
Coventry got off to a dream start and were 12-0 ahead after just 11 minutes after scrum half Shaun Perry and centre John Cannon scored tries and full back Gareth Cull added a conversion. That was the end of the scoring till the 37th minute when the visitors went 15-0 ahead with a Cull penalty goal.
In the second half two Peter Murphy penalty goals got the home side off the mark and into the game. Then just after the hour mark it was game on with fly half Nick Wainwright going over for a try and the deficit was four points. Wakefield had some good spell but could not breach the visitors line again and that was the end of their National One stay, which goes back many seasons.
Orrell 49 (Tries: So’oialo 2, Kelly, Welding, Penney, Livesey, Palepoi, Hinton. Cons: Hinton 3. Pen: Hinton.)
London Welsh 0 ()
Orrell finished on a high with a big home win over London Welsh running in another eight tries and keeping a clean sheet.
They made the perfect start with fly half Wade Kelly going over in the first minute for a try which Leigh Hinton converted. Hinton added a penalty goal on six minutes. Before half time they scored two unconverted tries with right wing Richard Welding and scrum half Steve So’oialo touching down for a 20-0 lead.
Two tries in the opening minutes of the second half saw then out of sight with centre Rod Penney and So’oialo scoring tries with Hinton having an off day by his standards as neither were converted.
He did though convert the next try as prop Alastair Livesey went over on 55 minutes and they were 37-0 ahead.
Two minutes later their excellent signing Opeta Palepoi went over for his 10th try of the season. But it was Hinton who round off the scoring with his 23rd try of the season and he converted as well to move onto 313 points for the season.
Plymouth Albion 56 (Tries: Robinson 2, Schusterman 2, Thomas, Barlow, Ward-Smith, Penalty try. Cons: Carrington 2, Barlow 3. Pens: Carrington 2.)
Penzance & Newlyn 0 ()
Comprehensive win for Albion at home to the Pirates in front of a record crowd of 4342 at Brickfields.
Lee Robinson was again in fine form and his double saw him join Orrell’s Leigh Hinton as the divisions leading try scorer with 23.
Albion had a great first half and were 37-0 ahead at the break with both Robinson and Martin Schusterman completing doubles. In the second half it took them a while to get going with the three second half tries coming in the final 12 minutes.
Manchester 3 (Pen: Brown.)
Otley 26 (Tries: Rivett, Sovatabua, Scully. Con: Binns. Pens: Binns 3.)
Manchester would love to have ended their National One stay with a win but it was not to be as Otley took the honours with the win.
In the first 25 minutes Simon Binns slotted over three penalty attempts to go into a 9-0 lead. Just after the half hour mark Stuart Brown got the home side on the scoreboard with a penalty goal but Otley ended the half with the games first try as winger Waisale Sovatabua went over for an unconverted try.
In the second half it took Otley till the 71st minute to add to their score with scrum half Dave Scully going over for a try and Binns converted. Deep in injury time they rounded off the win with right wing Leroy Rivett going in for a try. |
