Shifts at the bottom of National One and the summit of National Two East makes for an interesting lead up to Christmas while Leeds Tykes and Luctonians could well be at the top of their respective trees. (Photo Credit: Ian Jackson)

National One

Noah Fenton scored two of Taunton Titans’ five tries as Tony Yapp’s side beat Darlington Mowden Park 33-24 to record just their second win of the campaign.

Winger Fenton scored his tries in each half as the 300-mile trip to the North-East garnered Taunton’s first away triumph since February.

Will de Boehmler and Charlie Wright gave the visitors an early lead before Fenton and Ratu Vakalutukali crossed for the bonus point before half-time.

Oli Hodgson and Henry Hadfield touched down in the first 40 for DMP, but Fenton’s second effectively put the contest to bed.

DMP rallied as Harry Yates and Yaree Fantini claimed a try bonus point for the hosts but it was too little, too late as Taunton concluded November with a welcome victory.

The Titans sit two points clear of bottom of the table Sale FC who halted Rosslyn Park’s recent good form to also seal a vital win. Braces from Connor Doherty and Sean Street helped ‘The Dogs’ to a 45-12 success, meaning this coming Saturday’s meeting between Sale and Taunton will be intriguing to say the least.

Sandwiched in-between the pair are Leicester Lions who were beaten 36-29 at home by Bishop’s Stortford, with Will Rogers and Alex Rayment both scoring twice in a crucial victory for the visitors.

At the top, an excellent second-half showing from Rams RFC saw the league leaders power their way to a 42-22 win over Blackheath while second-placed Chinnor ran in nine tries to comfortably beat Richmond 55-26 at Kingsey Road.

It wasn’t as serene for Plymouth Albion (3rd) though, who recovered from 13-0 down and overcame a Harry Wilkinson red-card to stun Birmingham Moseley as they scored twice in four minutes to record a 19-18 victory at Brickfields.

Elsewhere, despite having Alex Wills sent off just before half-time, a fantastic second-half display from Sedgley Park (4th) helped them to an impressive 43-19 win at Cinderford.

National Two North

Leeds Tykes are now firmly in the driving seat at the summit of National Two North after beating Rotherham Titans 26-20 in this top-of-the-table showdown.

Harry Jukes and Kieran Davies scored for the Tykes in the first period as Pete Seabourne’s troops led 14-0 at half-time.

However, Rotherham hit back and cut the deficit to just one point after John Okafor’s try and eight points from the boot of Lloyd Hayes.

But the league leaders ultimately killed the game off inside the final 10 minutes as Davies and Jukes struck again before a second for Okafor sealed a losing bonus point for the away side.

The latest success for Leeds leaves them 11 points clear at the top and they are now the only unbeaten side across National League Rugby after putting a stop to Rotherham’s winning streak on Saturday.

The Titans do have a game in hand to come against Preston Grasshoppers in two weeks’ time, but next up for Gareth Lewis’ charges is a visit from Sheffield Tigers (4th) who came back from 28-14 down versus Lymm to record their fifth win from their last six games.

Wharfedale (3rd) picked up their second away triumph of the term as they defeated Preston Grasshoppers 35-22 at Lightfoot Green while elsewhere, Sheffield (5th) came out on top 45-41 in a 12-try thriller at Otley.

There was away day joy for Fylde for the first time since Round Two as they beat Hull Ionians 36-14 while Tynedale were also happy on Humberside as doubles from Josh Leslie and Joe Beaty helped secure a 34-10 success at Chanterlands Avenue. Huddersfield’s meeting with Billingham was postponed due to a frozen pitch.

National Two East

Henley Hawks (4th) added the latest twist to this compelling fight towards the top of National Two East following an excellent 27-22 win at Barnes.

Two first-half tries from Adam Hakimian and efforts from Zack Taylor and Tom Emery helped the Hawks stretch their unbeaten run to four matches whilst also denting Barnes’ possible promotion hopes in the process.

The hosts – who had begun the afternoon in second place – held a 19-12 half-time lead following tries from Josh Davies and Pete Weightman but Ben Cook’s late penalty was only enough for a losing bonus point.

A second defeat on the spin for Barnes has seen them fall to third as a fifth straight win for Esher  – a 34-14 triumph over Wimbledon – moved them into the silver medal spot.

The EEEs are now two points behind leaders Dorking who had to battle extremely hard to return to winning ways as they claimed a 41-38 victory over an excellent Sevenoaks side.

Fifth-placed Bury St Edmunds extended their unbeaten run to six games but had to settle for a 34-34 draw with Westcombe Park following Toby Wallace’s late penalty.

Elsewhere, Canterbury made it a full house for November by sealing a fourth win in a row. Matt Corker’s men beat Old Albanian 32-17 while another solid start set the platform for Tonbridge Juddians‘ 43-33 victory away at Worthing and Guernsey Raiders’ cutting edge saw them halt a four match losing streak as they beat North Walsham 22-14.

National Two West

Camborne were left stunned by Loughborough Students who dominated proceedings in the Midlands to claim a superb 82-15 win.

The visitors from Cornwall had entered Round 11 in second spot in the standings but could do nothing to stop their rampant hosts who scored 12 tries.

Six of their scores came in the first 40 via Mink Scharink (2), Jenson McInulty, Dan Eckersley (2) and Tom Riman to hand the Students a 42-13 lead.

The relentless nature of Martin Webdale’s troops continued in the second period as Theo Mayell, Charlie Briers, Darragh Walsh (2), Sam Bryan and McInulty all crossed.

George Edson and Ben Priddey scored Camborne’s tries but this was a tough afternoon for the Cherry and Whites.

This loss for Camborne opened the door for Luctonians to extend their lead at the summit as a hat-trick from Ben Link helped them to a 42-19 victory over Chester. Ryan Watkins’ men have ended the month strongly and now have Dings Crusaders as their nearest challengers.

The Bristol outfit are 10 points behind the table-toppers but are the in-form side as a 36-12 win on the road at Exeter University was their sixth success on the spin.

Clifton are back up to third as they bounced back from successive losses to edge past Bournville 27-22 following a late, converted Tom Hatch try.

Also across National Two West, Hinckley are unbeaten in four after recording a 38-24 win at Dudley Kingswinford, a hat-trick from Ben Fox guided Redruth to a 40-26 victory over Newport (Salop) and it is was ‘brothers in arms’ for Old Redcliffians as Finn and Harrison Murphy both scored twice in their 25-21 success against Hornets.

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