Events at Woodlands arguably made newly promoted Lymm’s dramatic victory over Fylde the standout result of the weekend. (Photo Credit: Chris Farrow)

National One

A Nev Edwards try nine minutes from time saw Sale FC edge Blackheath 19-14 to clinch a first win of the season.

Last year’s runners-up entered the weekend off the back of four straight losses but Johnathan Keep’s side were able to conclude September with a victory.

Tom Walsh scooted over to make it 7-0 but three penalties – two from Tom Ffitch and one from Matt Dalrymple – gave Blackheath a 9-5 half-time lead in challenging weather conditions at Heywood Road.

Rikki Stout scored a converted try to move Sale ahead but Leo Fielding went over just after the hour to restore ‘Club’s’ advantage.

However, it was back to the winners’ lounge for Sale as Edwards slid into the corner in the final 10 minutes to secure a welcome victory for the North-West outfit.

Taunton Titans are now the only side in National One without a win to their name as despite a resurgent second-half showing, they were beaten 41-35 by league leaders Rams RFC.

By maintaining their perfect record on Saturday, Seb Reynolds’ table-toppers still have a four-point gap at the summit as Plymouth Albion lifted themselves up to second after battling to a 27-17 triumph away at Darlington Mowden Park.

That was Albion’s fourth straight win while Richmond (3rd) made it three in a row as they saw off a battling Leicester Lions 35-22 in the Midlands and Chinnor continued to make Kingsey Road a fortress as Morgan Passman and Joe Browning both scored twice in their eight-try 48-17 victory over Cinderford.

Rosslyn Park were also in a rampant mood in Round Five as Charlie Walker scored three of their 11 tries in a thumping 67-15 success against Sedgley Park while Bishop’s Stortford recovered from 17-0 down to defeat Birmingham Moseley 29-22 at Silver Leys.

National Two North

Lymm snatched a 15-14 victory over Fylde in National Two North as Tom Shard’s dramatic last-minute drop-goal stunned the Lancashire side.

A converted try from Ben Gregory put Fylde 7-6 up at half-time, with Shard slotting two penalties for the visitors.

The Lymm fly-half landed a further two three-pointers to nudge his side ahead before the drama began to unravel at Woodlands. After flanker Sean Callander was yellow-carded on 68 minutes, Lymm’s James Sherlock and Patrick Jennings were also sin-binned in the final 10 minutes.

The latter’s yellow card resulted in a penalty try for Fylde on 78 minutes but there was still time for one last twist as with the final play of the game, Shard moved into the pocket to ping over a drop-goal and clinch a second win on the spin for Adam Fletcher’s men.

Back-to-back defeats for Fylde means they have slipped out of the top three, which continues to be headed up by Leeds Tykes and Rotherham Titans.

League leader Leeds smashed their way to a fifth successive bonus-point win as they dispatched Huddersfield 52-10 at Lockwood Park while Rotherham powered their way to their latest victory as they beat Tynedale 33-19 on the road.

Wharfedale are up to third thanks to three wins on the bounce and they achieved that feat after coming from 17 points down against Sheffield to record a 33-25 triumph at The Avenue.

There was also a comeback at Brantingham Park as Preston Grasshoppers overturned a 15-point deficit to clinch a 19-15 victory against Hull Ionians while there was a return to winning ways for Hull as they held off a Sheffield Tigers revival to seal a 24-18 success.

Elsewhere, Jobe Roxby’s penalty ultimately proved to be the difference for Billingham as the North-East side beat Otley 12-10 to record a third win from their first five matches of the campaign.

National Two East

Guernsey Raiders claimed their first away victory since January as they edged an entertaining encounter 34-22 against Wimbledon.

The visitors, who recovered from a slow start to the lead from the 13th minute, saw Carter Hackett, Charlie Simmonds and Callum Roberts cross while National Two East Player of the Week Ciaran McGann helped himself to 19 points.

Wimbledon had made a quick start with Josh Stace and Tomasz Pozniak going over and despite the latter completing his hat-trick after the hour, Jordan Reynolds’ troops had done enough to seal a welcome win on the road.

Speaking of morale-boosting victories, Canterbury were able to chalk up their second success of the term as hooker Nathan Morris once again rumbled over for a hat-trick of tries to seal a 45-38 victory against a new-look Worthing Raiders.

At the summit, Dorking made it a full house for September as Toby McRae’s hat-trick helped the league leaders secure a fifth successive bonus-point win while fellow top three members – Barnes (2nd) and Esher (3rd) – also recorded victories.

After losing narrowly to Dorking in Round Four, Barnes responded with a 36-0 win away at North Walsham while The EEEs made it four in a row as they ran in seven tries to defeat Old Albanian 50-27.

Henley Hawks (4th) were also able to continue building their momentum as they beat Sevenoaks 34-13 and Tonbridge Juddians (5th) followed suit as they notched a third consecutive victory thanks to a 26-17 triumph over Bury St Edmunds.

National Two West

Dudley Kingswinford ended their wait for a first win of the season in Round Five as the newcomers battled to a 32-19 bonus-point victory against Newport (Salop).

DK scored three first-half tries with Fred Morgan and Joe Heatley (2) both crossing while Ethan Harley’s effort got Newport on the board.

Timoci Waqadau’s brilliant try was swiftly followed by a score from Charlie Gamble to move the away side to within a point but two tries in the final 10 minutes from Callum Nicholls and Mark Harrison secured the victory for DK.

That winning feeling is yet to elude frontrunners Luctonians and Exeter University as the top two sides both secured a fifth success in a row. Lucs did so with a bonus point as hat-tricks from Charlie Grimes and Ben Link helped them to a 62-17 victory over Loughborough Students while Exeter battled to a 17-7 triumph away at Old Redcliffians.

Clifton remain third in the standings but their unbeaten record came to an end in Round Five as a last-gasp penalty from James Preston snatched a 17-16 win for Chester at Hare Lane while Hinckley (4th) returned to winning ways in remarkable fashion as they scored 24 unanswered points to edge past Dings Crusaders 29-26.

Elsewhere, Camborne should be satisfied with their September as they picked up their third win of the campaign (47-42) after coming out on top in a 13-try thriller against Hornets while Redruth fly-half Jordan Gott took centre stage as he scored 23 points in his side’s 28-26 win over Bournville.

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