There were statements of intent and decisive moments aplenty in Round Five, as well as excellent wins for Plymouth Albion and Bournville. (Photo Credit: Edmund Boyden)

Rinse and repeat for Rams and Richmond 

October seems to be the month when the table begins to tell a story and in National One, Rams RFC (1st) and Richmond (2nd) will be hoping that rings true.

In Round Five, it was a case of same again for two of the early pacesetters with league leaders Rams RFC inflicting a 54-29 defeat on Leicester Lions. Seb Reynolds’ side celebrated their centenary by collecting their fifth successive bonus-point victory, with Zach Clow scoring the pick of Rams’ nine tries.

The Lions did have their moments at Old Bath Road  – and departed Berkshire with a bonus point – but after just five matches, Rams look like strong contenders for the title yet again.

 

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Four years ago, Rams were in the mix for top spot along with Richmond and Rob Powell’s men once again find themselves towards the summit of the third tier after getting past Sale FC 31-27 at The Athletic Ground.

After dispatching the division’s bottom two – Darlington Mowden Park and Esher – in recent weeks, the visit of Jonathan Keep’s charges was always going to provide a different sort of challenge.

And so it proved with Sale holding the lead on four occasions during a nip and tuck encounter but it was tries from Lucas Schmid and Chidera Obonna which settled the contest.

It is now five wins in a row for Richmond – their best run of form since they were promoted from National One in the curtailed 2019/20 season – so is another tilt at the title on the cards?

Preston the place for more late drama

Supporters of Preston Grasshoppers (6th) are certainly getting their value for money this season. All five of their games this term have been decided by a seven-point margin or less with the latest episode at Lightfoot Green ending in a 31-31 draw against Tynedale (12th).

A penalty from Greg Smith on 75 minutes looked to have nudged Preston towards a third successive victory but Ben Haigh’s score was cooly converted by Josh Lesile as yet another late kick decided the outcome in Lancashire.

It is the third home game in a row for Hoppers which has gone down to the wire, but they have been on the wrong end of two of them. There will no doubt be a feeling of frustration amongst Dan Orwin’s troops because it is clear the components are there for Preston to begin moving in the right direction, but they will be keen to start making life a little easier for themselves.

As for Tynedale, their late heroics halted their losing run so they will be looking to use that as a platform during the rest of October.

There was also a back-and-forth contest in National Two East between Old Albanian (7th) and Sevenoaks where 101 points were shared at Woollams. In the end, OA’s edged it 52-49 to secure their first home win of the season whilst Sevenoaks – who did lead 27-26 at one stage – are still searching for their opening victory of the campaign.

Breathless battle between TJs and Guernsey highlights competitive nature of National Two East

Frantic, breathless and a superb advert for National League Rugby. Getting over-excited by an early top-of-the-table game can seem a bit premature but thankfully Tonbridge Juddians (1st) and Guernsey Raiders (2nd) justified our pre-match build-up.

It was TJs fly-half Tom White who had the last laugh as his nerveless conversion, following Duncan Tout’s try, clinched a 27-24 victory at The Slade.

This contest in Kent was absorbing from minute one with Guernsey leading 27-24 at the break following tries from Dom Rice, Anthony Armstrong and Niall McGann (2).

The latter did complete his hat-trick in the second period but a score from the in-form Curtis Barnes on 71 minutes was followed up by Tout’s second, with White’s conversion sealing the victory for Jordan Turner-Hall and Seb Sherwood’s men.

TJs are now the only unbeaten team in National Two East but just four points separates the top five sides. Excellent individual performances from Barnes’ (3rd) Jacques Birch and Dorking’s (4th) Tom Howe helped their respective clubs to wins over Worthing and Henley.

Barnes eventually shrugged off Worthing 55-26 while five first-half tries – two from Howe – set the foundations for Dorking’s 34-5 triumph away from home.

And tucked in just behind are Westcombe Park who continue to impress. After finishing in ninth last season, David Marshall’s side have won four of their first five games following a 46-24 success over Oxford Harlequins.

There is, of course, still a lot of rugby to be played but already, National Two East could be extremely competitive in 2024/25.

It’s not over till it’s over in National Two West

Late winning moments decided three of National Two West’s fixtures in Round Five and we’ll start with OId Redcliffians (4th) who made it 13 successive home wins thanks to Kacey Pike’s last-minute try against Redruth (9th).

Dan Cox and Craig Owen’s men have now gone a full year unbeaten at Scotland Lane but that fabulous record looked under serious threat until Pike’s finish in the corner helped secure a 45-40 victory.

One place above Olds Reds are Camborne (3rd) who were made to work extremely hard for their 33-27 win against Hornets (12th). After surging away from Macclesfield and Taunton in their previous two home fixtures, this was the complete opposite with Hornets never falling behind until the final five minutes.

Ben Priddey’s hat-trick cut the deficit to 26-27 before a penalty try broke the hearts of the visitors, who headed back up the M5 with two points rather than the full five.

And 18-year-old debutant Riley Gilbert was Hinckley’s (13th) hero as his try helped Chris Campbell’s side record their first win of the season as they beat Clifton 32-26. After a frustrating September, this was the ideal tonic for the Midlands club while it is now no wins in three for Clifton.

Further unbeaten records come to a conclusion

The number of unbeaten records across National League Rugby now stands at seven after three were ended on Saturday. Guernsey (who we have already mentioned) were one while Birmingham Moseley and Loughborough Students also saw their winning starts halted in Round Five.

In National One, Plymouth Albion (5th) downed Moseley (4th) 35-15 as Ryan Lamb’s side secured a third straight victory while a Freddie Morgan-inspired Bournville (5th) defeated Loughborough (2nd) 43-24.

The scrum-half scored 23 points as the Chocos recorded an eighth straight home win (a run which stretches back to January) against a Students side that had begun the afternoon top of the pile in National Two West.

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