The start of the ‘run-in’ didn’t disappoint as Round 20 produced multiple storylines across levels three and four. (Photo Credit: Paul Clark)

National One

Plymouth Albion (5th) have already had a say in the National One title race as they dented the aspirations of third-placed Rams following a 47-33 win at Old Bath Road.

Ryan Lamb’s side surged to their ninth successive victory to leave them 12 points behind table-toppers Richmond but notably, Albion play second-placed Rotherham Titans and then Richmond in their next two games.

As for Rams, seven defeats from their last 10 matches has hampered their promotion bid and their latest setback has seen them drop to fourth in the standings.

Two penalties from Plymouth’s Tom Putt gave the away side an early lead and after Zach Clow had replied for Rams, tries from Harry Wilkinson and Jago Sheppard put the visitors 20-5 up.

Rams hit back before the break with Axel Kalling-Smith and Solodrau Radianirova going over to make it 20-19, but two scores shortly after the interval stretched Albion’s advantage once again.

Jake Bond and Angus Hodges both touched down and even though a second from Kalling-Smith followed, two further penalties from Putt – either side of Shea Cornish’s try – ultimately sealed the victory for Plymouth.

Max Hayman did dot down three minutes from time for Rams but their indiscipline throughout the afternoon was punished by Albion, who continued their scintillating form.

Whilst there is a belief amongst the Albion ranks that they are in this title race, the top two of Richmond and Rotherham do have a cushion between themselves and the chasing pack. Leaders Richmond are now three points clear of Rotherham after coming from 14-0 down against Bishop’s Stortford (9th) to claim a 38-21 victory while a patched-up Rotherham (2nd) – who were missing some key personnel in the forwards – dug deep to edge past Birmingham Moseley (8th) 28-27 at Clifton Lane.

The Titans were once again unable to secure a bonus point but right now, Harvey Biljon’s troops continue to find ways to win and are keeping Richmond in their sights.

Elsewhere, Rosslyn Park moved up to third in the table as they narrowly beat relegation-threatened Leicester Lions 21-19 at The Rock while Sale FC’s (7th) excellent 2025 continued as they defeated Esher (12th) 37-21 away from home to secure a fifth victory from their last seven games.

There was also success on the road for Sedgley Park (10th) and Dings Crusaders (11th) with Sedge recording a superb 25-22 win at Blackheath (6th) while the Crusaders were made to fight hard before eventually seeing off bottom of the table Darlington Mowden Park 31-24. In terms of DMP, they must pick up a minimum of two points from their next fixture against Leicester Lions otherwise their relegation could be confirmed in Round 21.

National Two North

Sheffield Tigers (11th) scored three tries in the final eight minutes to clinch a dramatic 34-18 victory over table rivals Harrogate (13th).

The late heroics from the Tigers has enhanced their survival bid as Jack Howieson’s men now sit 11 points clear of the bottom two with six games left to play while Harrogate remain in the drop zone after departing Dore Moor empty-handed.

But for just over half of this contest, Harrogate were in front as Charlie Head’s try and the boot of Rory Macnab steered them into an 11-10 lead at the break.

The Tigers had responded via Will Archer’s try and five points from the tee from Will Baker, but Amrit Sharma’s try for the visitors had Harrogate ahead until the 72nd minute.


Before then, Baker had added another penalty but the hosts were about to produce a superb fightback as a three-minute double from James Norman and Ben Manderfield’s try flipped the game on its head.

Baker kicked the extras on all three occasions as the Tigers sealed the victory which could prove to be a key moment in their campaign.

As for Harrogate, they stay in 13th place after bottom-of-the-table Billingham were beaten 52-17 by title-chasing Sheffield (2nd), with winger Christian Hooper helping himself to four tries. Just above Harrogate are Hull, who are seven points clear of the drop zone after they lost 50-24 away at Lymm (3rd) who arrested a three-match losing run.

But for ninth-placed Otley, their surge away from the relegation scrap continued in Round 20 as they produced a brilliant second half to display to come from 24-8 down to defeat Chester (8th) 40-24 at Hare Lane. This was a third win on the spin for Kyle Dench’s charges.

Elsewhere, fellow bottom-half side Preston Grasshoppers (10th) were beaten 45-10 at Lightfoot Green by league leaders Leeds Tykes, who remain four points clear at the top, while Fylde (4th) came from behind to defeat Tynedale (6th) 27-19.  Hull Ionians (7th) are also into the top half after seeing off Wharfedale (5th) 24-12 at Brantingham Park.

National Two East

Barnes (2nd) will head into Round 21’s top-of-the-table meeting with Tonbridge Juddians still six points behind the leaders as a storming first-half display set the platform for a 45-35 victory over Canterbury (4th) despite a roaring second-half fightback from the visitors.

Since the turn of the year, Jack Heald’s side have not dropped a point as a sixth successive bonus-point victory keeps TJs in their sights even though the table toppers do have a game in hand.

Barnes’ electric opening against Canterbury signified their intentions as the hosts led 40-0 at the break following tries from Ryan Nixon, Iago Davies, Ethan Sikorski (2), Jacques Birch and man-of-the-match Elliott Haydon.

But credit to the visitors, they responded superbly. After Eoin O’Donoghue and Haydon had swapped scores, Canterbury scored four tries in the final quarter via Oliver Frostick, Presley Farrance, Jesse De Vries and Aiden Moss but in the end, they had left themselves with too much to do.

As for Tonbridge Juddians, they passed the latest test of their title credentials with a hard-fought 25-20 win away at Kent rivals Westcombe Park (5th), their 18th victory of the season.

And another success for TJs over Barnes this coming Saturday would leave them in an unbelievably strong position to make a return to National One.

At the other end of the standings, bottom club Worthing would have been disappointed to depart sixth-placed Henley Hawks empty-handed following a 36-19 defeat at Dry Leas. The Raiders had very much been in the contest up until the final seven minutes, but Henley’s Will Benning and George Wood dotted down to deny Worthing any points in Oxfordshire.

Table rivals Colchester (13th) did collect a try bonus point in their 42-26 loss at Dorking (3rd) but that is only half of the story. The hosts received two red cards in this one with Stephen Howorth and Tom Bloomer both being sent off while Colchester scrum-half Ed Parry also saw red for a head-on-head collision in the second period.

While Worthing and Colchester are still fighting for survival, Oxford Harlequins (10th) are propelling themselves away from any relegation trouble as Pete Davies’ side recorded a third consecutive bonus-point win with a 43-33 success over Sevenoaks (11th). Oxford Quins – who were promoted to this level for the first time in their history last season – are now 16 points clear of the drop zone.

Meanwhile, Old Albanian (7th) continued their excellent form as they secured a sixth win from their last seven games with a 44-30 triumph over Havant (12th) and after one victory in five, Bury St Edmunds (8th) tasted their winning feeling again as they beat Guernsey (9th) 32-25.

National Two West

Doubles for Aiden Taylor and Charles Groves saw Devonport Services (14th) once again enhance their survival bid as they edged past table rivals Macclesfield 38-34 in the South-West.

After beating Hinckley 28-24 in Round 19, Ben Russell’s side are now just six points behind 13th-placed Bournville and have more than a fighting chance of staying in National Two.

The hosts led 19-17 at half-time with Taylor, Groves and Richard Goldsby West all going over while Macc responded via Jamie Harrison, Tom Jennings and Sam Adu in an entertaining first period.

Early second-half tries from Tom Davies and Groves extended Devonport’s lead before England U20 international Dom Hanson swapped scores with Taylor just before the hour.

But credit to Macclesfield, they continued to battle and their endeavour was rewarded as Harry Hughes and Andrew Darlington both went over as the Cheshire side headed back up north with what could be two valuable bonus points.

In terms of the wider picture, Macc now sit four points clear of the drop as Bournville failed to collect any points from their 64-19 loss away at Hinckley (10th). Matt Price’s troops were 19-17 up heading towards half-time but a try from Hinckley’s Tatenda Mukarati tipped the scales in their favour as the hosts went on to score six unanswered tries in the second period, with winger Callum Dacey taking his individual tally to four for the afternoon.

Meanwhile, 11th-placed Exeter University are eight points above the dreaded dotted line after they lost 44-28 at home against league leaders Camborne while second-placed Clifton remain six points behind their title rivals after a battling to a 39-28 win over Redruth (5th) in an excellent contest at Station Road.

Also in Round 20, Loughborough Students lifted themselves to sixth in the standings with a fine 49-38 away success at Luctonians (8th) while Hornets (7th) produced one of the comebacks of the season as they recovered from 29-14 down in the final five minutes to clinch a stunning 31-29 derby day triumph away at Old Redcliffians (9th).

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