Rosslyn Park 28 Blackheath 3

A winning run that had stretched to seven games crashed to a full stop at The Rock as Blackheath were shoved aside by a fired-up and efficient Rosslyn Park side.

Belying their position of third from bottom of National League One at the start of the day, Park cruelly exposed Blackheath’s frailties at the scrum, with Mark Lilley and Stewart Maguire (who wore a Club jersey for five appearances in 2015) forcing penalties and gaining yardage at will, and produced a defensive display so resolute, the visitors hardly threatened in the opposition twenty-two throughout the entire contest.

They backed it with some fine goal-kicking too. 

Scott Sneddon’s first strike on seven minutes was out wide and 45-metres from the uprights and the Park fly-half added a second, only marginally easier, before centre Harry Leonard popped one over from similar range for a 9-0 lead on the half-hour.

Blackheath didn’t help their cause either with numerous unforced errors, and as the ball was allowed to bounce awkwardly close to their own goal-line, and a five-metre put-in conceded, there was an inevitability about the outcome as, from their solid base, full-back Henry Robinson crossed close to the right corner for a 14-0 advantage at the break.

Leo Fielding made amends for an earlier miss with a 52nd minute penalty to get Blackheath off the mark, but the visitors continued to make mistakes and allow players to get isolated, while Park always had numbers in support as when hooker Charles Piper put open-side Joshua Ovens across for their second try, before second-row Adam Frampton dived over a ruck to add the third.

‘We were comprehensively outplayed from start to finish,’ said Club skipper Markus Burcham after the match.  ‘We’ll need a rethink.’

Presumably before Saturday when Blackheath’s next game takes place when they host Old Albanian at Well Hall.  Kick-off is at 3.00 pm

Rosslyn Park

Tries:   Robinson, Ovens, Frampton

Conv:  Sneddon 2

Pens:    Sneddon 2, Leonard

Blackheath

Pens:    Fielding