Hartpury keep home unbeaten streak alive with victory over Caldy
By Luke Jarmyn & Lewis Ratcliffe, at 4ED Hartpury Stadium
HARTPURY RFC have moved up to fourth in the Champ after producing an outstanding fight back in the final 20 minutes of their clash with Cheshire side Caldy.
Openside flanker Harry Short was named man of the match after scoring two tries at the 4ED Hartpury Stadium while fly-half Harry Bazalgette didn’t miss a kick to score 13 critical points from the tee.
The team’s victory ensures they remain unbeaten at home in the league this season, which is a sweet early Christmas gift for the all the players, staff and supporters before their festive fixture on Boxing Day.
Sitting sixth in English Rugby’s second-tier and confident of rising further after getting two wins and a draw in their last three fixtures, the weather was equally glowing over the Hartpury University-based ground for the RFC’s final home match of 2025.
Meanwhile, visitors Caldy went into the match ninth in the standings after a home defeat to fellow mid-table team Coventry.
Bazalgette kicked the game off towards the car-park end of the ground, and Hartpury got off to a strong start with some slick passing and quick breakdown speed resulting in Short bundling over the line by the right post to open up the scoring on the eighth minute.
Five minutes later and the all-red kitted home-side doubled their lead with lock Dale Lemon being helped over the whitewash in similar fashion.
Now with a 14-0 scoreline after a quarter of an hour played, and seemingly a huge advantage in their home stadium, Hartpury appeared to let their foot off the gas.
Caldy worked back up the park and produced some well drilled training ground moves, and short, sharp passes before a driving maul finished with hooker Matt Gallagher getting over the whitewash.
The Cheshire side continued to develop their momentum, and with the clock now in red at the end of the first-half, a Hartpury infringement led to Caldy fly-half Kieran Wilkinson slotting a penalty shot through the middle of the sticks, bringing the game to a 14-10 scoreline as the break hit.
Caldy came out of the changing rooms with a different tempo to their play, immediately displaying their intentions with a well-worked try in the corner by ever-present talisman Matt Gallagher with openside Dan Owen in support.
The pendulum had well and truly swung with the visitors, who’s backs produced some confident free-flowing play before scrum-half Ollie Wynn chipped the ball over the top of Hartpury’s red line, gathered by openside Dan Owen before setting up fullback Charlie Hyde to dive over in the corner by the main stand.
It gave the Ravers a 22-14 lead and a thin comfort blanket with less than half-an-hour to play on what was becoming an ever-chillier afternoon in Gloucestershire.
But, after dealing with Caldy’s continual spell of pressure, Hartpury’s strength showed; a solid driving maul by the forwards laid the platform before the ball was shipped cross-field for winger Jake Morris to dash over the whitewash and provide a much-needed bounce back for his team on the cusp of the hour-mark.
With the visitors pinned back in their own 22-metre area, a line-out 10 metres in front of their own try-line, by the main stand, went drastically wrong for them, and crucially right for Hartpury.
The overthrown set-piece by replacement Ollie Hearn saw the ball miss the line-out jumpers and landed neatly in the hands of Short, with the No.7 making the most of the gift to jog over the try-line for the try bonus point and put the home-side back in the lead.
Hartpury were clearly on the right side of the referee, and Bazalgette added a penalty kick to his four conversions on the 73rd minute to give the home-side a nine-point cushion with just seven minutes remaining.
With Caldy now in a desperate attempt to regain the lead they once had, their desperation in failing to break Hartpury’s physical red line showed, with replacement tighthead prop Nathan Rushton being sin-binned by the referee on the 78th minute.
Hartpury rounded off the win with replacement loosehead prop Archie McArthur showed his fresh legs to power over the try-line and dot down the ball near the left post in the final minutes.
The try – Hartpury’s fifth – capped off a brilliant back and forth contest in which both teams used spells of momentum to challenge each other.
Hartpury have now won four of their last five home games, whilst drawing the other, using the bonus point win to propel from sixth to fourth in the league standings.
Meanwhile Caldy, who begun the season with three wins over their first four games to be second in the standings, have now lost seven fixtures in a row and drop to 11th in the league table.
Hartpury now turn their focus onto an away match against seventh placed Nottingham on Boxing Day. Kick-off at The Bay is at 3pm.
Stats:
|
Hartpury RFC |
|
Caldy RFC |
|
13 |
Penalties conceded |
14 |
|
6 |
Line-outs won |
8 |
|
2 |
Line-outs lost |
1 |
|
8 |
Scrums won |
4 |
|
0 |
Scrums lost |
2 |
|
0 |
Yellow cards |
1 |
|
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
HARTPURY RFC: Alex Morgan (Hayden Lewis 44), Jake Morris, Robbie Smith, Ollie Allsopp, Ollie Holliday, Harry Bazalgette, Oscar Lennon (Cai Gealy 57); Louie Trevett (Archie McArthur 61), Ethan Hunt (Will Crane 61), Jono Benz-Salomon (Oliver Minnis 67), Dale Lemon, Jack Davies (C), Cameron Cobbett (Peter Paramore 77), Harry Short (Ellis Hart 72), Jarrard Hayler
Replacements not used: Josh Field
Tries: Harry Short 8’, 68’, Dale Lemon 14’, Jake Morris 59’, Archie McArthur 79’
Conversions: Harry Bazalgette 9’, 15’, 60’, 69’, 80’
Penalties: Harry Bazalgette 73’
CALDY RFC: Charlie Hyde, Rhys Tudor (Obi Ene 67), Connor Wilkinson, Michael Barlow, Will Robinson, Kieran Wilkinson, Ollie Wynn (Tom Akehurst 67); Monty Weatherby (Joe Sproston 64), Matt Gallagher (Ollie Hearn 64), Ryan Higginson (Nathan Rushton 55), Martin Gerrard, Sam Olycott, Reuben Logan, Dan Owen, JJ Dickinson
Replacements not used: Jack Wilson, Dan Rabbette, Matthew Rabbette
Tries: Matt Gallagher 34’, 42’, Charlie Hyde 52’
Conversions: Kieran Wilkinson 35’, 53’
Penalties: Kieran Wilkinson 40+1’
Sin-bins: Nathan Rushton 78’
Referee: Sara Cox (RFU)
Attendance: 810
Half-time score: 14-10 (to Hartpury RFC)
Star Players: Harry Short (Hartpury RFC) / Kieran Wilkinson (Caldy RFC)
Reaction:
Cornwell and Short both “happy” after fightback secures five points
By Lewis Ratcliffe, at 4ED Hartpury Stadium
HARTPURY RFC head coach Mark Cornwell praised his players for overcoming a “difficult’’ Caldy side to ensure they earned their fourth bonus-point win of the season.
The five-try 38-22 victory ensured Hartpury’s fifth game in a row unbeaten as they turn the 4ED Hartpury Stadium into an ever-imperious fortress.
Cornwell was glad his side ‘’were able to wrestle momentum back in the second half to get it over the line, and give us the five points we needed.’’
Hartpury had to climb back from a 22-14 deficit in the second half after leading throughout the first-half, which in a match full of tight knit tackling, scrummaging and rucks was more difficult than imagined.
‘’We know how difficult Caldy are as a side, they stay in the fight; because they stay in the fight. I wasn’t surprised to see the determination Caldy showed as we have seen it every year.
“Caldy are scrappy and live off of the scraps. If we aren’t accurate with what we do it invites them back into the game – which is exactly what happened.’’ Hartpury’s coach explained.
‘’We know how difficult Caldy are as a side - because they stay in the fight. I wasn’t surprised to see the determination Caldy showed as we have seen it every year.
He further praised his side for battling against that ‘’scrappy’’ Caldy side, explaining what was needed to comeback from a deficit against them.
‘’That shows character, and it’s hard to coach that. The boys have to extort that themselves and there are a lot of boys out there with character and they showed that to wrestle it back and get the win.”
Hartpury’s double try scorer Harry Short was one player who in particular showed his battling qualities through the fixture.
Talking about his scoring, the flanker praised his colleagues, stating that “It comes from a good shift from the other boys putting it in and earning that platform,’’ admitting he ‘’just ends up being the lucky one on the end.’’
Talking after the game, Short evaluated on how “we [Hartpury] knew at half time if we kept the ball, we could get rewarded.’’
With this being the last game before Christmas and the next fixture only on Boxing Day, head coach Cornwell added: “I’d imagine this will be quite a quiet and sombre Christmas for the lads, but yeah it’s a busy time for us now.’’
When speaking about the upcoming Boxing Day clash, Short agreed and said: “Indeed it is tough. But it should be good, hopefully a nice Christmas occasion, then one more game before heading into a nice break.’’
