London Welsh 25 Newbury 23

Welsh:: Tries: Kwasnicki (2), Burke (14), Strong (75). Cons: Marks 2. Pens: Marks 6), Burton (78).

Newbury: Tries: Walsh 2 (19, 54). Cons: Walsh 2. Pens: Walsh 3 (17, 43, 51)

HT: 17-10. Referee: Rowan Kitt.

Welsh: P Sampson (Sin bin 50): J Strong, G Evans, R Jewell, P Mackay (A Cadwallader 80), T Marks (M Burton 43), G Nicholls (R Evans 55): I George, A Kwasnicki (C Ritchie 55), K Gay (D Williams 57), K Burke (H Quigley 63), B Thomas, J Mills, M Lee (P Cox 32), H Jenkins.  

Newbury: N Defty (A Ashwin 17): J Hylton (G Hughes 22-30, D Rees (G Hughes 74), A Reay, A Henderson, T Walsh, D Smaje (Mark Simpson Daniel 63) : M Irish (S Carter 63), A Dalgleish (Sin bin 39), W Thompson, I Ashcroft Leigh, G Hayter (T Radbourne 51), L Walters (O Campbell 40-43, M Stiles 58), C Morgan, T Brown.

London Welsh picked up their first win of the season with this narrow two point victory over Newbury who slip to a second successive defeat.

Two tries in the opening 14 minutes with a penalty goal in between saw the Welsh go 17-0 ahead with forwards Adam Kwasnicki and Kevin Burke touching down.  

Newbury fly half Tim Walsh hit back with a penalty goal and he converted his own try to make it 17-10 after 19 minutes which was the way it stayed till the break.

Newbury took over the scoring in the third quarter and went into the lead with Walsh putting over a couple of penalty goals as well as going in for his second try of the match which he again converted and they led 23-17 after 54 minutes.  

The Welsh got a third try after 85 minutes with James Strong touching down, Burton missed the conversion to give the Welsh the lead but did put over a  match winning penalty goal three minutes later.

.  

Rotherham 5 Nottingham 19

Rotherham: Try: McGowan (44)

Nottingham: Tries: Barlow (27),

HT: 0-12. Dean Richards

Titans: J Lennard: J Feely, T Allen (M Lawson 62), J Blackwood (B Nolan 75), S Grissing (M Lawson 10-12), M Whitehead, N Chivers (C Hallam 60): G Jenkins (R Sweeney 44), K Corrigan (N Corrigan 61), A O’Donnell, D Smith (B Jacobsz 60), L McGowan, M McCormish, R Connolly (N Cochrane 75), A Dunlop (Sin bin 25). 

Nottingham: R Nirmalendran: A Savage, M Smith, A Dodge, D Jackson (J Kay 17): T Barlow, C Pilgrim (Sin bin 49): M Parr (N Hall 64), J Duffey, R Hopkins, S Raven, N Rouse (L Morley 62), T Stannard, L Sherriff, D Montague.   

Excellent away win for Nottingham at Clifton Lane over Rotherham Titans out scoring them three tries to one.

It took 27 minutes for the first score with Nottingham going 7-0 ahead after fly half Tom Barlow touched down and added the conversion. Just before the break they got a second try as flanker Luke Sherriff went over and they were 12-0 up at the break.

Four minutes into the second half and Nottingham got a third try to go 19-0 ahead as full back Rohan Nirmalendran went over and Barlow converted.  

The Titans did make it onto the scoreboard a few minutes later when second row Louis McGowan went over for what turned out to be the final score of the match with no side adding to their total in the final 30 minutes.

Cornish Pirates 26 Northampton 35

Pirates: Tries: Elloway (32), Moore (75). Cons: Steenson 2. Pens: Steenson 4 (4, 14, 27, 39)

Saints: Tries: Ward (9), Everitt (41), Diggin (52), Visser (65). Cons: Everitt 3. Pens: Everitt 3 (12, 70, 79)

HT: 19-10. Referee: Dale Newitt.
Pirates: A Winnan: R McAtee (J Moore 57), P Devlin, S Whatling, B Tuohy, G Steenson, R Bolt: P Cook R Elloway (N Kemp 65), S Heard (D Seal 40), J Beardshaw (S Hobson 65), B Cummings, C Cracknell, I Motusaga, T Cowley (E Gesinde 75).  . 

Saints: C Spencer: P Diggin, B Reihana, J Downey, T Visser, B Everitt, J Howard: S Emms, D Ward, B Stewart (T Sigley 68), D Browne (C Short 68), A Rae, K Rudzki (P Tupai 50), D Fox, M Hopley.

A shock looked on the cards at half time as the Pirates led 19-10 against Northampton Saints in front of a bumper 6,487 crowd.

Gareth Steenson put the Pirates ahead on four minutes but within fiver minutes the Saints were in front after hooker Dave Ward went over and Barry Everitt added a conversion. Three minutes later and Everitt slotted over a penalty goal to make it 10-3 and Saints seemed to be n their way. 

The Pirates had other ideas and Two more Steenson penalty goal made it a one point game after 27 minutes.

Five minutes later and they were in front after hooker Rob Elloway went over and Steenson  converted, before extending the lead to19-10 just before the break.

Tries form Everitt and winger Paul Diggin, converted by Everitt, and saw the Saints back in front 24-19 after 52 minutes.

A try from debutante left wing Tim Visser gave the visitors the bonus point and with Everitt again on target they were 32-19 ahead.

The Pirates were back within a score after replacement wing James Moore went over on 75 minutes but an Everitt penalty goal four minutes later wrapped up the win for the Saints and deprived the Pirates a losing bonus point.

Moseley 23 Pertemps Bees 11

Moseley: Tries: Mason (59), Foster (69). Cons: Jones 2. Pens: Jones 3 (8, 21, 65).

Bees: Try: Daish (3). Pens: Hook 2 (56, 63)

HT: 6-5. Referee: Tim Wigglesworth.

Moseley: M Williams: N Bressington, A Binns, J Adams, M Foster, M Jones, J Ireland: N Williams, A Caves (R McMillan 60), J Forster, P Arnold, R Stott, N Mason (O Atkinson 73-76), E Uzoigwe, M Evans (A Lightowler 60). 

Bees: P Murchie: R Spee, A Maggs (M Mangeolles 29), D Knight (M Griffiths 63), C Mitchell, J Higgins (M Hook 50), P Knight: M Long (A Wyn Davies 54), S Pearl, P Bucknall, M Gabey (A Davidson 40), G McComb, A Daish, J Preece (W Matthews 54), R Earnshaw.

Moseley made it two out of two with this home win over Pertemps Bees. It was the Bees who took the lead when flanker Andy Daish went over for a 3rd minute try and a 5-0 lead. Andy Binns pulled three points back for the homeside with a penalty goal before Matt Jones gave them the lead with one on 21 minutes to make it 6-5 and it stayed like that till half time.

Mike Hook put the visitors back in front with a 56th minute penalty goal after replacing Jon Higgins at half time.  The lead lasted three minutes before flanker Neil Mason went over the Bees line and Jones added the extras for 13-8. Hook slotted over another penalty goal just after the hour mark to make it a two point game.  

Jones extended the home lead to five points with a second penalty goal before wing Mark Foster, following his brace last week, sealed the win with a 68th minute try which Jones converted  

Plymouth Albion 19 Exeter Chiefs 28

Albion: Try: Owen (40). Con: Laidlaw. Pens: Laidlaw 4 (6, 13, 45, 72)

Chiefs: Tries: Luff (29), Con: Gray. Pens: Gray 4 (2, 11, 33, 61). DG: Gray 3 (50, 75, 80)

HT: 13-16. Referee: Mark Wilson.

Albion: E Lewis: L Gibson (W Neethling 59), A Cruickshanks, B Davies, N Sestaret, R Laidlaw, N Cane (E Lewsey 47): T Mathias, J Owen (R Oxley 80), S Baretto (Sin bin 33, G Davis 70)), B Gulliver, T Hayes, J Bornman (K Marriott 50-56), C Lowrie (K Marriott 70), A Kettle. 

Chiefs: B Breeze, J Luff, M Fatialofa, A Fatialofa, J Drauniniu, D Gray, C Stuart Smith: D Parkes (S Kingsland 67), S Nelson, J Andress (Sin bin 38, C Dunlee 70), L Stevenson (T Johnson 67), J Hanks, C Slade (G Willis 78), A Miller, R Baxter..

Exeter Chiefs make it two wins out of two with this away win at Brickfields over Plymouth Albion in front of 5,751 crowd.

Despite 47 points there were only two tries as the match was dominated by the boots of Ross Laidlaw and Danny Gray.

It was Gray who gave the Chiefs a 3-0 lead with a 2nd minute penalty goal. Laidlaw responded with two for the home side to make it 6-3 after 13 minutes. Back came the Chiefs with a try form right wing Jason Luff and Gray converted and with two more penalty goals saw his side open up a 16-6 lead.

Hooker James Owen went over the Exeter line as half time approached and with Laidlaw converting it was a three point game 16-13 at half time.

Laidlaw levelled at 45 minutes but Gray dropped a goal and slotted over a 4th penalty goal to make it 22-16 after 61 minutes.

In the final ten minutes Laidlaw pulled three points back with his 4th penalty goal of the afternoon. Gray though sealed it with two late drop goals to deprive the home side a losing bonus point.   

Doncaster 26 Cornish All Blacks 8

Doncaster: Tries: Phillips (3), Tomes (20), Bishop (39), Carter (67). Cons: Woodrow 3.

CAB: Try: Jess (23). Pen: Alred (16)

HT: 19-8. Referee: Chris Sharp.

Doncaster: W Davies: J Bishop, S Young (A Carter 47), S Davey, D van Vuuren, M Woodrow, A Nicoud: N Tau (S Bunting 51), B Phillips (S Boden 23), J Rawson, S Tomes, G Kenworthy (D Griffiths 24), S Gray (M Soden 72), S Grainger, G Wilson.

CAB: A Birkett (M Dibble 64): M Jess, M Sweeney (R Westren 60), S Perry, J Fabian, S Alred, S Alford (B Turner 61): R Liddington (J Bolt 50), K Brooking (T Hurdwell 40), W Reed (K Brooking 68), S Pape, T Parker, J Lord, T Roques (T Rawlings 64), D Kimberley (S Hocking 57).

The home side were in front after just three minutes with a try from hooker Ben Phillips and Mark Woodrow added the conversion for 7-0. Stuart Alred pulled three points back for the Cornish All Blacks but on 20 minutes they were over the All Backs line as second row Sean Tomes touched down and Woodrow converted for 14-3.

Three minutes later and the visitors went over the home line as winger Matt Jess touched down. With half time approaching the home right wing Justin Bishop went over and Doncaster led 19-8 at half time.

The only score of the second half saw the home side secure the try bonus point as replacement Anthony Carter went over in the 67th minute.

Bedford Blues 31 Esher 29

Blues: Dickson (4), Hinkins (60), Pienaar (66). Cons: Elrick 2. Pens: Elrick 4 (11, 22, 34, 50)
Esher: Tries: Flockhart (18), Moore 2 (37, 79), Armitage (50). Cons: Hallett 3. Pen: Hallett (15).

HT:  19-17 Referee: Greg Garner.

Blues: B Burke (Sin bin 48): J Hinkins, L Roberts, M Allen (J Russell 33), A Page, J Elrick (BB Patston 71), K Dickson: M Volland (M Cacere 61), D Richmond, D Cole, M Comb (J Phillips 52), M Botha, N Strauss, C Mundy, R Noonan (B Pienaar 52).  

Esher: N Hallett: M Moore, R Henderson (T Clouston 78), B Armitage (Sin bin 33), D Flockhart, D Hewitt, G Barr (L Lane 52): D Cormack (D Millard 78), J Campbell (M Bennett 80), T Warren (A Alexander 80), J Englis, A Harris (P Barker 65), M Blakeburn (A Mockford 66), L Starling, D Barrell (Sin bin 65).

Esher were given a run for their money by Esher before coming through by two points to take the win but not the four try bonus point. Esher left with two points as they managed to cross the Blues line for time and restricted the loss to less than seven points.

The Blues were first on the scoreboard when scrum half Karl Dickson went over after just four minutes. New boy Jon Elrick missed the conversion but did make it 8-0 with a penalty goal on 11 minutes.

Four minutes later and Esher were on the board with Neil Hallett putting over a penalty goal and four minutes later he was converted a try form left wing Doug Flockhart to make it a tied game 10 apiece.

Elrick then put over a couple of penalty goals and the Blues were 16-10 ahead.

With half time approaching Esher went ahead after wing Matt Moore went over and Hallett converted for 17-16 the lead disappeared in injury time with Elrick putting over his fourth penalty goal of the half to make it 19-17.

10 minutes into the second half and Esher were back in front after centre Bevon Armitage went over for an unconverted try.

On the hour mark the game swung the way of the Blues as right wing James Hinkins went over and it was 24-22 going into the final quarter.

Six minutes later and the Blues were nine points clear after replacement No 8 Ben Pienaar went over and Elrick added the conversion which proved vital in the end.

Just before the end Esher went in for try number four as Moore completed a double and Hallett converted but time was against them and Bedford took the win.  . 

Sedgley Park 28 Coventry 21

Park: Van Deventer 2 (39, 48), Skurr (34), Hall (68). Cons: Nutt. Pens: Nutt (14), Jones (79).
Cov: Sanders (4), Penalty try (12), Dixon (56). Cons: Russell 3.

HT: 15-14. Referee: Nick Williams

Park: M Riley: C Hall, A Craig, F Payne,  J Van Deventer, S Nutt (P Jones 64), J Albinson (C Wilkinson 78): P Du Plessis, J Roddam, M Halsall, T Fourie, G Townson (E Norris 60), A Newton (J Crous 60), J Ponton, J Skurr.

Cov: B Toft: G Dixon (McLean 70), B Russell, D Sanders, K Johnson, D Myles, N Jones (Slater 50), C Rimmer (Whitehall 45), C Whitehead (R Protherough 73), R Brits, I Nimmo (Gillanders 50), D Hodge, H Venter, J Miller (Clayton 44), L McGlone.

Just what Park needed after last weeks defeat at Exeter Chiefs whilst Coventry are 0-2.

Coventry made a bright start and were 14-0 ahead after 12 minutes after a try from centre Donovan Sanders and a penalty try and two conversions from Ben Russell.

Stephen Nutt got Park on the scoreboard with a penalty goal and two tries in the final ten minutes of the half turned it round and Park led 15-14 after tries form Back row Jon Skurr and wing Jay Van Deventer.

Eight minutes into the second half and Van Deventer completed a double and Park were 20-14 ahead. Coventry were back in front though on 56 minutes when right wing George Dixon went over for a try and Russell added the extras for 21-20. 

Right wing Chris Hall gave the home side the lead again on 68 minutes with a try and when replacement Phil Jones put over a late penalty goal – it sealed the win for Park leaving Coventry with just a losing bonus point.