Plymouth Albion 26-34 Blackheath: The Club rings proudly to prove three is a crowd

By Paddy Marsh

Plymouth A ……26pts

Blackheath ….. 34pts

Tries: Wilkinson 30, Taylor 39, Oulton 59, Fenton 65

Conversions: Jenkins 30, 39, 59

Tries: Harding 4, 49; Hughes 15, Burns 26, Holland 36

Conversions: Morley, 4, 26, 49

Penalty: Morley 80

Blackheath kept up the pace in the promotion race, with a thoroughly deserved victory over nearest rivals Plymouth Albion.

Third-placed Heath dominated the opening quarter and gave their second-place hosts a mountain to climb, after racing into a 19-0 lead.

On reflection, Albion will be very disappointed with their performance, particularly their discipline and line-out returns.

Plymouth had a late chance to get a losing bonus point when awarded a late penalty, which was within kicking range.

Match action

They, however, declined the kick at goal and went for the corner, but Blackheath’s defence held firm.

The top three sides in the league all play each other in the coming weeks, and there will be many twists and turns before the season ends.

Blackheath took an early lead when hooker Billy Harding finished off a catch-and-drive for his 38th try of the season.

Fly-half Sam Morley added the conversion before the visitors added a second try.

After a loose Plymouth line out, Morley put a kick through to the corner, which winger Tom Hughes got to before the ball went dead.

Blackheath rocked Albion with a third try when scrum-half Jordan Burns went in under the posts, with Morley adding the extras.

Plymouth suddenly came alive and opened their account when hooker Harry Wilkinson crossed, with fly-half Iwan Jenkins converting.

Back came Blackheath, who claimed the try scoring bonus when prop Archie Holland forced his way over for an unconverted try.

Plymouth gave themselves a lifeline, just before the interval, when lock Huw Taylor scored and Jenkins converted.

Second half

Blackheath opened the second half with another Harding catch-and-drive try from which Morley converted.

Plymouth were next over, when scrum-half Jack Oulton scored under the posts, before the hosts went down to 14-men when prop Liam Bishop was yellow-carded.

Despite being a man down, Plymouth got their try-scoring bonus point, with winger Noah Fenton’s try in the corner.

Plymouth pressed for the winner, but Morley sealed Blackheath’s win with a late penalty.

Privilege

“The first 20 minutes were vital and we got ourselves a nice lead,” said winning skipper Harding.

“We knew Plymouth would come back at us, but we defended well, often for long periods.

“We are in the middle of a tough run of games, but it’s a privilege to play in games like this in front of a big crowd.”

Star player: Jack Oulton scores for Plymouth