Hartpury secure play-off spot in final day thriller
By Luke Jarmyn & Olly D’Arcy, at 4ED Hartpury Stadium
HARTPURY RFC sealed their spot in the 2025/26 Champ Rugby play-offs after a 30-21 bonus-point victory over the Cornish Pirates in a winner-takes-all thriller season finale.
The last play-off spot in the re-instated post-season format was on the line for both sides as sixth placed Hartpury hosted seventh positioned Pirates, with the university side being on 76 league points, just three clear of their West Country rivals and setting up a mouth-watering final day decider.
Glorious Gloucestershire sunshine shone down on a packed 1,020 crowd, with little wind disturbing either side on a perfect day for a playoff-clinching game that Hartpury fly-half Harry Bazalgette got underway after referee Joe Jones blew his whistle.
Hartpury attacked from right-to-left in their traditional all-red kit, while the Pirates attacked from left-to-right in their purple change strip.
The opening ten minutes were a scrappy affair in what was a nervous start from both teams, unable to take the game by the scruff of the neck and find some territory and possession.
Hartpury were the first team to get onto the scoreboard. Some great work at a ruck by winger Ollie Holliday led to a penalty kick for the hosts, which Bazalgette slotted between the sticks with ease from just inside the halfway line on the 29th minute to add to his league-leading points tally.
However, it was the away side who earned the afternoon’s first try as outside-centre Chester Ribbons profited from some brilliant work by Pirates inside centre Joe Elderkin who burst through Hartpury’s defence before feeding his midfield partner to slide over under the posts with the ball. Pirates fly-half Arwel Robson added the extras from the tee.
The tense nature of the game continued, with the only other points in the first-half coming via a stunning Bazalgette penalty kick, ‘pury’s talisman was pinpoint from 56 metres out after some more excellent ruck work by the hosts forwards just before half-time.
The Pirates knew that a try bonus point would be needed to give themselves a shot at the play-off spots, and they brought some urgency that had been missing in the first 40 minutes straight into the second half, as hooker Morgan Nelson peeled off from a driving maul to dive over and dotting the ball down to extend the Penzance side’s lead on 45 minutes with Robson adding another conversion.
Hartpury’s dogged nature that has seen them fight brilliantly in the play-off race then shone through once again, and winger Josh Field was the catalyst, the replacement scoring expertly in the left-hand corner after multiple phases. Bazalgette’s touchline conversion put the reds just one point behind Pirates at 13-14.
Hartpury then took the lead in the 55th minute after a wonderful first-phase try from the base of an attacking scrum on the Pirates 22-metre line, passing the ball beautifully through the hands before fullback Will Knight showed a sublime turn of pace to scythe through Pirates purple defensive line and put the Gloucestershire side’s noses in front for the first time in the game.
But the Cornishmen would not go away without a fight, and substitute hooker Sol Moody showed exactly that as he shrugged off several Hartpury tacklers from five metres out before barrelling over the try line to give his side the lead once more, and with Robson’s third conversion of the evening making it 18-21 on the hour mark.
After a disjointed first-half, the poise from Hartpury in attack in the final 20 minutes saw Hartpury take control of the game, and Bazalgette’s game-management and control from the fly-half position was a key component of that, while Pirates saw some key moments slip through their fingers as their challenge for play-off rugby fizzled out.
The former Cornish Pirates and Exeter University star unlocked his former side’s defence with some skill and craft, allowing Hartpury to retake the lead on the 63rd minute. Knight made the most of the overlap created by Bazalgette to race through with some fantastic pace once again, adding a second try to his name while Bazalgette’s conversion made it a 25-21 game.
Pirates fly-half Robson was sin-binned for a cynical penalty on the 71st minute, and the resulting penalty saw Hartpury kick to the corner and score off an impressive driving maul through replacement hooker Ethan Hunt, which proved to be the decisive score with just seven minutes remaining.
The final scoreline of 30-21 sealed sixth place in the table and the final play-off place for Hartpury with 81 points and setting up a knockout clash away to third-placed Coventry this coming Saturday. Meanwhile Cornish Pirates season has come to a close in seventh spot with 73 points.
Stats:
|
Hartpury RFC |
|
Cornish Pirates |
|
10 |
Penalties conceded |
9 |
|
6 |
Line-outs won |
2 |
|
1 |
Line-outs lost |
3 |
|
6 |
Scrums won |
2 |
|
0 |
Scrums lost |
0 |
|
0 |
Sin-bins |
1 |
|
0 |
Red-cards |
0 |
HARTPURY RFC: Will Knight, Charlie Powell, Robbie Smith, Ollie Allsopp (Max Knight 68), Ollie Holliday (Josh Field 40), Harry Bazalgette, Rhys Price (Cai Gealy 76); Harrison Bellamy (Louis Trevett 45), Will Crane (cc) (Ethan Hunt 68), Jono Benz-Salomon (Alex Gibson 68), Dale Lemon, Jack Davies (cc), Cameron Cobbett (Harry Taylor 52), Harry Short (Ellis Hart 77), Jarrard Hayler
Tries: Josh Field 49, Will Knight 55, 63, Ethan Hunt 72
Conversions: Harry Bazalgette 50, 64
Penalties: Harry Bazalgette 19, 39
CORNISH PIRATES: Iwan Price-Thomas, Arthur Relton, Chester Ribbons (Angus Mawson 69), Joe Elderkin (Matt Ward 68), Harry Yates, Arwel Robson, Daniel Hiscocks (Will Becconsall 55); Oliver Andrews (Will Young 45), Morgan Nelson (Sol Moody 45), Alfie Petch (Ehren Painter 45), Milo Hallam (Charlie Rice 57), Matt Cannon, Peter Everett (c), Jack Forsythe (Rory Suttor 61), Tomiwa Agbongbon
Tries: Chester Ribbons 24, Morgan Nelson 45, Sol Moody 60
Conversions: Arwel Robson 25, 46, 61
Sin-bins: Arwel Robson 71
Referee: Joe James (RFU)
Attendance: 1,020
Half-time: 6-7 (To Cornish Pirates)
Star man: Will Knight (Hartpury)
Reaction:
‘Outstanding’ second half hailed for sealing play-off place
By Olly D’Arcy & Luke Jarmyn, at 4ED Hartpury Stadium
HARTPURY RFC director of rugby Mark Cornwell praised his “outstanding” side after beating Cornish Pirates 30-21 to secure their place in the re-constituted Champ Rugby play-offs with a dramatic four-try bonus-point victory.
With victory for either side sealing the significant sixth spot in the table - the final play-off place - a thrilling winner-takes-all encounter played out at the 4ED Hartpury Stadium in sunny Gloucestershire conditions.
Fortunately, it was the home-side who sealed a play-off trip to Coventry to cap off a memorable campaign, aided by a superb quarter of tries in the second-half to overturn a deficit and eventually pull away from Pirates.
Cornwell, a proud Cornishman himself, was full of praise for the composure and mentality shown by his Hartpury players after the break, although he clarified that the achievement of the play-offs was never something the squad openly targeted, even in Saturday’s game.
“It’s something that I hadn’t really thought about or targeted or spoken to the players about,” the former Gloucester second-row admitted post-match.
“It’s not what we do here. We just target the next game and see if we can win it and then we move on. Having aims and ambitions like that is something we don’t talk about, but we are where we are.
“As I told them before kick-off, it’s an opportunity to get to a showcase game next week. I’m being told we’ve got Coventry away after their big win today. Like I just said, it’s the next game, so let’s just take a look at it and see what we can do.”
Tries for Josh Field, Ethan Hunt, and a brace for Will Knight saw Hartpury turn a 6-7 halftime deficit into a bonus-point win in the West Country derby with a controlled second half performance, making sure they did what they needed to book their play-off spot.
“They were outstanding in the second half,” Cornwell continued. “They controlled things, controlled territory and got the scoreboard ticking. Yes, we went behind, but we didn’t panic, and we knew we had some ability on the pitch to get over the line and score some tries.
“I knew it would be a tough battle today. Pirates don’t travel thinking they’re going to lose. They’re a tough outfit, they’re well coached, and they’ve got some very, very good players.
“When you’re sitting with the boys in the changing room, sometimes you know they aren’t there mentally, and sometimes you know they are emotionally at it. Today, I knew they were.”
“We’ve got a great team spirit here, and that’s what we build a lot of our performances on. When you’re fighting in the trenches at times, you’ve got boys you know you can trust and who will fight your corner for you. That’s key to getting wins.”
That fight will be as big as ever when Hartpury travel to Coventry for the quarter-final stage of the Champ Rugby play-offs, and the head coach of the red-kitted side knows what a test it will be.
“We went to Cov earlier in this season, and we came up short. It was close at half time, but we just let it slip just after half time,” Cornwell explained.
“We know what type of game they're going to play; we know that they're a movement game, offload game, speed of ball, and, obviously, they've done the same to Worcester today.
“It's a tough old place to go, and the style of rugby, this weather, it suits them down to the ground as well, so we know the challenge in hand. We'll address it as to what we do in the training sessions this week.”
Hartpury co-captain Will Crane has been a stalwart across the last three seasons, and after his side’s fantastic season was rewarded with play-off rugby, the hooker echoed the sentiments shared by Cornwell on Hartpury’s achievement.
“I’m really, really proud of the lads, the whole squad, staff, everyone,” the hooker said after the season finale.
“It’s really encouraging to see little old Hartpury up in the play-offs with some of the big hitters.
“That’s what we rely on at Hartpury. We’ve got such a tight-knit bunch of lads. Week in, week out, everything’s against us at times, small squad, lads coming in and out, training early in the morning. But we find that resolve from training and take it into the games.”
Hartpury’s ability to raise their level after half-time was again evident against the Pirates, especially with the nature of the game as play-off places were on the line for both sides.
“What I said at half-time, just before we came out, I was like, ‘Lads, we knew the permutations going into the game’.” continued Crane.
“They needed to score four tries and win. What we said was that we've got to win, and then we look after the rest.
“They were going to be desperate, so we just had to show that desire, close-knit team. Thankfully, we came out on top.”
Now, attention turns quickly to next weekend’s play-off clash away at Coventry, a challenge that Crane knows will test Hartpury once again.
“There will be a little bit on it with Jono and Aristot playing against each other, and there will be a few other lads in there too,” Crane explained, as some intra-player battles will also take place.
“It'll be great. Knockout rugby is knockout rugby. All you've got to do is win. It'll be a really good occasion down at Coventry's ground. I'm sure it'll be a big crowd there, too.
“We’ll enjoy that experience and see how we get on.”
