With the match being moved to the 3G due to a frozen 5m channel it spelled a potential try fest. And so it proved with the teams sharing 12 tries. Tommy Mathews 100% conversion rate was the difference in the end. A sizable crowd huddled around the rubber crumb on a freezing cold day in Gloucestershire as the referee blew his whistle for the start of the game. Coventry were first on the attack with some sustained pressure but from a turnover in their own 22, debutant full back, Alex Morgan, raced away from his man and ghosted round his opposite number to score in the corner. In doing so he pull ..read more

Hartpury produced one of the biggest comebacks in recent memory after conceding 4 tries in the opening 25 minutes. Nottingham fired out the blocks, scoring after just two minutes. A fast paced kick return eventually led to Harry Graham scooting in the corner for the opening score. Hollingsworth missed the conversion but soon had Nottingham back on the Hartpury line after a series of penalties led to a lineout drive in the corner. The referee, who had been switched in just before kick off, deemed an illegal sack by Sam Lewis and awarded a penalty try and a subsequent yellow card for Lewis.  ..read more

Doncaster responded to last weeks disappointing loss at Ealing by putting on a dominant performance in the sun at The Alpas Arena. In front of a big crowd, who respected the minute silence with perfection and sang the National Anthem with voice. Hartpury started the brighter with some good attacking kicking from captain JB Bruzulier, resultant in a string of infringements near the Doncaster line. James Williams, returning from Bristol Bears on loan, knocked over 3 successful penalties to give Hartpury a 9-0 lead after 15 minutes. Olver missed one of his own for Doncaster but he started to pull ..read more

Charlie Foley grabbed a late try for Hartpury – courtesy Rich Chapman After the exciting 19-19 result last week it was all to play for and a home semi-final for the winners at the Stade Santander International on Friday night. Hartpury initially faced a slight breeze up the slope but otherwise decent conditions for a hopefully exciting game. Jersey were fastest out the blocks with a sustained attack but the Hartpury defence stood firm and eventually won a penalty that James Williams kicked well into the jersey half. Several passing and kicking errors then led to a 60m field position gain ..read more

Hartpury University go into tomorrow’s Championship Cup quarter-final, second leg, buoyed by a good recent performance against opponents, Jersey Reds, which saw the scores locked at 19-19 come the final whistle. Joe Howard Apart from anything else, it represented a significant improvement on the lacklustre display in the home leg against Richmond in the previous round. Accordingly, Hartpury make just one change to the starting XV for Friday’s away leg, which sees Josh Gray return in place of the absent James Dun.  Dun was one of the stand-out performers last week, but Gloucester back row ..read more

What a difference a week makes! The lacklustre performance v Richmond was well and truly forgotten as Hartpury put in a display that would match any of their better efforts this season. Alex Forrester scored Hartpury’s opener – courtesy LNC Images Jersey fielded a strong side and it was nice to see returning former Hartpury student and BUCS Super Rugby-winner, Tom Everard, in their starting line-up. The teams were playing the first of two legs for a place in the semi-final of the Championship Cup competition. The home team came out of the blocks fastest with some excellent attacking play, a su ..read more

It is a somewhat sad day, as we have to announce that Will Crane, our hooker and co-captain, will be leaving the club at the end of the current season. Will Crane Will joined us from Birmingham Moseley in the summer of 2017, having impressed against us in National 1. He originally joined Hartpury as a student completing a Sports Business Management degree and played BUCS Rugby alongside RFC duties.  He was part of the squad that won BUCS Super Rugby in 2018 and was skipper the following season, although injury kept him out of many games including the successful Twickenham final. He contin ..read more

Hartpury have made a handful of changes to the side that performed erratically in defeat to Richmond last week. These are a mixture of enforced and rotational switches for the 2nd Round, 1st-leg, Championship Cup tie. Oscar Lennon There is good news in the return of Oscar Lennon at scrum-half and he will form a useful half-back pairing with the Bristol Bears-bound James Williams. The other change in the back division is a relatively rare RFC appearance for the pacy Alex Forrester, who steps in for Deago Bailey, a double try-scorer last week. Despite some initial concerns regarding injury and i ..read more

Ultimately, Hartpury progressed through to the quarter finals of the end-of-season Championship Cup, but on the day they came up second best to an energised and enthusiastic Richmond side. Iain Grieve, who’s final competitive game this was after a long and successful career including five seasons at Hartpury RFC Being 35 points in deficit going into yesterday’s contest, it would have been a miracle if Richmond could turn that around but, to their credit, they gave it a great shot. It was two largely similar squads that faced each other a fortnight ago and both teams looked to play from the out ..read more

Reliable and consistent lock forward, Dale Lemon, is selected for the 20th time this season – the majority of them starts – for tomorrow’s 1st Round, 2nd leg, Championship Cup clash against welcome visitors Richmond. Lemon is in his second season with the Red & Blacks, having joined from local club Cinderford in the summer of 2019.  Within the current campaign, only backs James Williams and Sam Smith (both 21) have featured in more match-day squads. In fact, Hartpury are able to stay strong throughout for this fixture, although the reality is that the club do not have an extensive sq ..read more