Rugby union: Blackheath show class in closing stages to claim victory at Henley

Blackheath scored 24 unanswered points to earn a 50-28 home win over Henley, writes Graham Cox.

It was a fine game. Club took an early initiative only for Henley to launch a strong fightback, the Oxfordshire side taking the lead on the hour mark.

It was a short-lived advantage though as Club showed the class that has seen them lead National League Two East for almost the entire season.

The match had 11 tries in total, three of them accruing to Blackheath in the opening 26 minutes.

The Club started out at a ferocious pace, perhaps too frantic at times, as Henley were able to turnover possession twice, but on 17 minutes Freddie Owen steamed over after Kaden Pearce-Paul had collected lineout ball to open the scoring.

Blackheath scored two tries in the space of four minutes. Markus Burcham added two further tries, the first after he was put through by Oli Burgess and then following Nick Foster cutting a line through the Henley defence before the full-back found his inside-centre on hand to finish for a 21-0 lead.

Henley arrived at Well Hall having won six of their last seven and having been deprived of territory to that point, capitalised on an error.

Lost ball at the restart gave the visitors their first foothold in the hosts’ twenty-two, and a tap-penalty saw blindside Morgan MacRae over out wide, reducing the half-time deficit to 21-7.

A fired-up Henley emerged for the second period, first working scrum-half Will Crow across before, on 46 minutes, Leo Webb found himself clear, the wing outsprinting the cover to touch down beneath the uprights for the visitors to draw level.

Blackheath moved ahead again, as Alex Harris and Jake Lloyd combined down the left flank for the former to score a fine try, but a lineout drive on the hour saw MacRae over for his second, fly-half Max Titchener’s fourth conversion edging the visitors ahead for the only time.

With the Club pack dominant at the scrum, and driving well, Jack Daly moved blind off a maul for the hosts’ fifth try.

Burgess added the conversion and, soon after, a penalty eased Blackheath to an eight-point advantage. The Club fly-half beautifully evaded a tackle to find Foster, who sent Andy Denham over as ball was moved across field.

Finally, in the dying moments, a move down the right off scrum ball saw Burcham unselfishly send Lloyd over out wide.

Burgess brought up the half-century with a sixth conversion.

Blackheath make the journey to Norfolk to take on North Walsham on Saturday.

Regional 1 South Central leaders Wimbledon head to lowly Banbury this weekend.

The Dons, 14 points ahead of second-placed Camberley, did not have a match last weekend.