Hartpury RFC vs London Scottish (A) - Match Report - 33-24

Scottish go up in Big Smoke as Hartpury prevail in the capital

By Muhammed Sher, at Richmond Athletic Ground

AS Hartpury RFC’s head coach Mark Cornwell alluded to post-game, London – and in particular, Richmond – hasn’t been a happy hunting ground for his men over the years.

Indeed, it was only a month ago since they were muscled out by Scottish’s landlords but here, on a lovely, crisp December afternoon, the visitors were not to be undone.

That they were arguably expected to beat Scottish, given their league position, would draw you down a false road. Under the wily Bryan Redpath, the Exiles have taken some notable scalps at home over the years and for 50 minutes or so, they were very much in this contest.

But two yellow cards in the space of seven second-half minutes well and truly opened the door for the men in red, and through it they marched, led by the irrepressible Harry Bazalgette. The Hartpury playmaker kicked and nudged his men into all the right areas, and he was at his metronomic best.

Preceding that, though, was a curate’s egg of an opening 40 minutes.

The sides turned around at 19 points apiece but if truth be told, it wasn’t a spectacle which did enough to warm a healthy pre-Christmas crowd of just under 700.

There were knock-ons, aimless passes, clearances out on the full and missed tackles aplenty. If you were looking for some seasonal entertainment, you might have been better off wondering up into the West End. Theatre this wasn’t.

Bizarrely, perhaps abetted by the scratchy nature of the game, the half produced six tries.

Jonathan Benz-Salomon, always busy, always willing, bundled over for Hartpury’s opener – although the Scottish reply was quick, hooker Harry Clayton clambering over in almost identical fashion.

Brad Denty went over for the pick of the first half scores, fed by a glorious, sizzling pass from Alex Morgan to then whiz into the corner but, again, Scottish were up for the fight.

The excellent Hayden Hyde went over twice in quick succession, set up by sublime pieces of skill from Tom Wilstead; the first being born from the deftest of offloads which killed the momentum of seven red shirts in a heartbeat. We’ll tell it how we see it at Hartpury – it was a skill worthy of the entrance fee alone.

By now, Cornwell was a man frustrated, clearly agitated by his side falling over their own shoelaces, so to speak. Building up a lead away from home, before relinquishing it, isn’t a behaviour type that often leads to a positive outcome.

Oscar Lennon must have sensed what was potentially coming his way, and his teammates, at half-time by the Hartpury supremo as minutes before the interval, his score drew them level.

Peter Paramore’s charge-down was pounced upon by Lennon, scampering up the touchline and over the whitewash in double-quick time.

The early signs after the turn around weren’t good for the University outfit.

Bailey Ransom put Scottish into the lead again, Wilstead again the instigator. From there, however, Hartpury moved through the gears.

Clayton and Seb Driscoll were given their marching orders by referee Jonathan Cook as the Hartpury pack squeezed relentlessly in front of the Scottish line, and on both occasions the hosts were punished.

Will Crane squirmed over for try number four, Morgan adding the fifth, thanks to a fine inside pass from Jacob Morris, all while airborne.

Having pulled away, and the job complete, Cornwell emptied his bench to keep his group fresh, no doubt with the busy Christmas and New Year period in mind.

Having been defeated just once in their previous five encounters, confidence will be high going into next week’s home tie against Caldy, before a trip to Nottingham on Boxing Day – one place and point above ‘Pury in fifth spot – and a clash against Cambridge to see in 2026.

A bonus-point win, in London, with Christmas less than two weeks away. If you see Cornwell around this week with a wry smile on his face, you know why.

Stats:

London Scottish RFC: Will Talbot-Davies (Josh Bellamy 67’), Noah Ferdinand (Jack Wright 59’), Sean Kerr, Robbie McCallum, Hayden Hyde, Tom Wilstead (Fraser Honey 70’), Dan Nutton (Jonathan Law 46’); Vaughan Bentley (Tom Lindsay 72’), Harry Clayton, Ntiga Mpiko (Osman Dimen 46’), Matt Wilkinson (Jonny Green 59’), Elliot Williams, Bailey Ransom (Theo Vukasinovic 67’), Seb Driscoll, Tom Marshall

Tries: Clayton 10’, Hyde 27’, 35’, Ransom 49’

Conversions: Wilstead 28’, 36’

Sin-bins: Harry Clayton 56’, Seb Driscoll 63’

Hartpury RFC: Alex Morgan, Brad Denty (Josh Field 78’), Robbie Smith, Ollie Allsopp, Jacob Morris, Harry Bazalgette, Oscar Lennon (Sam Allford 79’); Louie Trevett (Archie McArthur 70’), Will Crane (cc) (Ethan Hunt 74’), Jon Benz-Salomon (Oliver Minnis 70’), Dale Lemon, Jack Davies (cc), Peter Paramore (Harry Short 61’), Ellis Hart (Cameron Cobbett 61’), Jarrard Hayler

Replacements not used: Freddie Stevens

Tries: Benz-Salomon 6’, Denty 19’, Lennon 38’, Crane 58’, Morgan 63’

Conversions: Bazalgette 7’, 20’, 59’, 64’

Referee: Jonathan Cook (RFU)

Attendance: 682

Half-time score: 19-19

Star players: Will Talbot-Davies (London Scottish) / Jack Davies (Hartpury)

Reaction:

‘Precious’ win on the road keeps Hartpury on the right path, says Cornwell

By Muhammed Sher, at Richmond Athletic Ground

HARTPURY RFC boss Mark Cornwell was pleased to overcome the “London hoodoo” his side have often fell foul to over the years, citing this win in the capital city as “precious” to keep his side in sight of the Championship’s top five.

“I don’t know quite why, but we’ve often not had a good experience here and it was only recently we got undone by Richmond. Yes, I know people will say we were favourites given where the two teams are in the league, but this is not an easy place to get anything,” he said.

“The first half wasn’t great, was it? Again, I’m not quite sure why at this stage, but it’s a problem we have away from home. I’d almost guarantee you if we were met with the same challenges at home, we’d be much better.

“We made far too many errors, right across the pitch, and it hampered us. We couldn’t find any fluidity or rhythm, and to compound that, you’re playing against a side which will keep coming at you, and they did.

“Yes, the yellow cards changed the game, but we forced that, and that’s pleasing. We were far more balanced and composed in front of the line and that created pressure. I felt we controlled the last 30, 35 minutes of the game and we scored a couple of nice tries too. 

“Away wins are precious in this league. We want to keep looking upwards and forwards and we want to ask questions of the bigger names above us. One step at a time, eh? We’ll prepare properly for Caldy this week and see where that takes us.”

Scrum-half Oscar Lennon was in an equally reflective, and respectful mood, after being one of Hartpury’s five try scorers, and expressed his relief to have come out the other side of a contest against a hard-working Scottish side with a bonus-point victory.

“That was a tough old game. We said all week that Scottish would be relentless, especially in defence when it comes to closing space, and line speed, and they did exactly that,” he said.

“It’s strange because even though you prepare for that scenario, it’s still challenging to deal with when it comes your way. And it took us a little while to figure it out, and that’s credit to them. They made life difficult for us.

“We re-looked at things at half-time, settled down, and I felt we were more ourselves in the second-half.

“And it’s always nice to contribute, right? Pete Paramore’s got a great charge down and I’m in the right spot really, so it’s dropped nicely for me.

“Now, though, we need to quickly get ourselves right for this busy period which is coming up. It’s hard because obviously it’s the time of the year when your friends and family are enjoying themselves but we have an opportunity ahead of us to knock of the door of the top four and our preparation needs to be bang on.”