Round 10 Review: High flyers stunned, Nail-Biting Finishes and Dominant Performances
Rosslyn Park of National One and National Two West leaders Camborne both suffered away defeats in a dramatic Round 10, which featured tense matches and thrilling finishes. (Photo Credit: Ian Clark)
National One
Rosslyn Park (2nd) slipped to only their second defeat of the season as a superb Clifton (9th) stunned the high-flyers with an excellent 37-29 victory at Station Road.
The Lavender and Blacks – promoted from National Two West last term – flew out of the blocks, as Joe Snow’s converted try on debut followed an early Ollie Millner penalty.
Park, who began the day top of the table, responded through Bill Johnston’s boot and a Charlie Walker score, but despite losing Oliver Stirling to the sin-bin, Clifton reached the interval in front thanks to the first of Brad Talbot’s brace and another Millner penalty.
Park struck first after the break via leading try-scorer Luke Mehson, but Millner kept Clifton on course from the tee and Talbot’s second pushed the advantage to 30-15.
FT@cliftonrugby 37 (5)@rosslynpark 29 (1)
Clifton win 🙂@swsportsnews @Natleague_rugby #Nat1 #Rugby.— Clifton Rugby (@cliftonrugby) November 15, 2025
The title contenders then rallied as Max Fraine and Ed Volley crossed, yet Clifton held their nerve. Naquan Smith pounced after Cameron King saw yellow, sealing a memorable win for Matt Salter and Luke Cozens’ side.
Rotherham Titans (1st) wasted no time capitalising on Park’s slip, grinding out a 24-19 triumph over Blackheath (4th) to reclaim top spot.
First-half scores from JB Bruzulier, Sinjin Broad and a penalty try – plus seven points from Lloyd Hayes – gave the Titans a 24-12 lead.
Blackheath closed the gap through National One’s top try-scorer Billy Harding while also looking strong in the set-piece, but Rotherham’s defence held firm.
Plymouth Albion (3rd) produced an ideal response to their Round Nine defeat at Blackheath, securing an impressive 34-15 away win over Rams (6th).
Ryan Lamb’s side had lost their previous three away games, so with league leaders Rotherham visiting in Round 11, this result will have given Albion a timely boost.
Sale FC (5th) marked Dan Birchall’s 200th appearance in style, beating Tonbridge Juddians (8th) 33-26.
Sale raced to a 14-0 lead through Joe Green and Josh Brown before TJs replied, but further tries from Ollie Davies pushed the Dogs 28-7 ahead.
TJs roared back with three second-half tries via Connor Lloyd, Tom Kendrick and Tom Mannix, but Fergus Mulchrone’s late score sealed the win.
In an increasingly congested bottom half, Bishop’s Stortford (10th) stitched together back-to-back wins for the first time this term.
Trailing 19-0 to Leicester Lions (12th) at Silver Leys, they fought back to claim a 48-29 victory thanks to a pretty dominant second-half display.
Leeds Tykes (11th) also bagged a crucial five-pointer, defeating Dings Crusaders (13th) 26-17 in testing conditions to continue their encouraging run of three wins from their last five matches.
Dings, meanwhile, have now lost three in a row since shocking Rotherham in Round Seven.
And Birmingham Moseley (14th) have slipped to the foot of the table after an agonising 28-27 loss at Sedgley Park (7th).
Moseley outscored their hosts five tries to four but crucially missed multiple conversions – including one four minutes from time – handing the Tigers the narrowest of victories. Just one point now separates the bottom four.
National Two North
Macclesfield (4th) edged a breathless, 12-try thriller at Priory Park, beating Tynedale (3rd) 39-38.
Tyne led 19-17 at the break following tries from Seamus Hutton, Joe Tully and Jake Scott, while Macc responded with a trio of their own as Mason Winterburn, Ollie Longmore and Immanuel Shute all went over.
After the restart, both sides traded blows. Ben Blackburn and Archie Rattray crossed before Shute’s second was trumped by further scores from Scott and Rattray.
That left Tynedale 38-29 up entering the final stages, but Macc surged back. Charles Attis landed a penalty before Samson Shute’s decisive try two minutes from time snatched the win.
Macclesfield now sit just three points behind second-placed Darlington Mowden Park, who saw their winning streak paused by Fylde (5th) following a 17-17 draw at Woodlands.
Tries from Dan Cassidy and Ben Turner turned the game Fylde’s way, but Liam Checksfield levelled matters 11 minutes from time before DMP missed a last-minute penalty that would have won them the game.
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The stalemate leaves DMP two points behind leaders Sheffield, whose clash with Scunthorpe (14th) was postponed due to a waterlogged pitch.
In the bottom half, Sheffield Tigers (11th) produced the upset of the weekend as Mark Ireland’s 74th-minute penalty clinched a 27-26 away win at Hull Ionians (6th).
The I’s came into Round 10 having won four of their last five games, but the Tigers kept in the fight at Brantingham Park – thanks to tries from the returning Will Baker and James Norman on loan from Rotherham – to seal a second away triumph of the term.
As for Billingham (10th), Greenwood Road is once again becoming a bit of a fortress for Peter Evans and Dan Finney’s side as they recorded a third home win on the bounce.
They beat Rossendale (12th) 31-27 as tries from Nathan Myers and Kieran Clark turned things around in the final 10 minutes. The latter’s key score came when Rossendale were down to 14 men after Seb Pemberton had been sin-binned.
Elsewhere, Wharfedale (7th) unleashed a blistering second-half performance to overturn a 16-5 deficit as they beat Hull (13th) 44-21, while Otley (8th) chalked up their third win in four by defeating Preston Grasshoppers (9th) 34-25 in a pulsating encounter away from home.
National Two East
Guernsey Raiders (7th) extended their unbeaten run to seven matches with a gritty 21-16 victory over Bury St Edmunds (6th).
Bury, who began the afternoon in second place, led 13-10 at half-time thanks to a Tom Hoppe brace and a Ben Penfold penalty, before the latter pushed the lead to six after the break.
But two penalties from Ciaran McGann – either side of Anthony Armstrong’s decisive try – ensured Guernsey’s fourth consecutive home win.
Despite their fine form, the Raiders remain seventh because the rest of the top six (minus Bury) all won.
Old Albanian reinforced their status as league leaders with a sixth straight victory, eventually shaking off a spirited Esher (9th) to win 55-34.
Due to the bad weather, the game was switched to Harpenden Rugby Club’s AGP surface, which lent itself to 14 tries being scored.
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With the score at 33-22 to OAs, three tries in a 12-minute second half window from Aaron Florestein, Stephen Hihetah and Harry Samuel ultimately sealed the win for the table-toppers who now have an eight-point lead at the summit.
Barnes (2nd) regained second spot and maintained their unbeaten home record with a comprehensive 40-19 win over Havant (12th) while Oundle (3rd) are up to third after running in 11 tries to defeat bottom of the table Oxford Harlequins 69-28.
With Storm Claudia hitting the country on Friday, the game was moved from Occupation Road to Oxford Harlequins, but Oundle were still able to complete the job, with winger Rian Hamilton helping himself to a hat-trick.
Dorking (4th) recorded their third win on the bounce as they scored four of their seven tries after the interval to beat Sevenoaks (13th) 45-17.
Next up is a tantalising visit to Westcombe Park (5th), who held off a late surge from Henley Hawks (11th) to win 21-14 on the road.
And Canterbury (8th) halted a three-match losing streak by beating London Welsh (10th) 31-24.
A strong first half put them 24-5 ahead, but Welsh once again showcased their resilience to claw back two bonus points – taking their tally to 13 for the season.
National Two West
Taunton (9th) delivered one of the headline results of the weekend, ending Camborne’s (1st) 100 per cent start with a dramatic 30-29 win.
Before Round 10, the Cherry and Whites were one of just two teams across National League Rugby yet to drop a point, but just like last season, they were unable to get the better of the Titans at Summerfield Stadium.
Camborne led 21-10 following tries from Aden Brassington and Sam Matavesi, with Kyle Moyle accurate from the tee, but Isaac Dalton’s effort before the break gave Taunton hope.
Tom Putt then nudged the hosts within a point before he and Moyle traded penalties in the final 10 minutes.
However, a red card shown to Frankie Nowell was ultimately punished by Taunton as Archie Spokes dotted down with a minute to go to give them a 30-24 lead.
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Camborne then had an opportunity to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat as Sam Walker touched down, but the resulting conversion was missed, sending Taunton into raptures.
Camborne’s misstep allowed Luctonians (2nd) to close the gap at the top to four points. They responded impressively to last weekend’s defeat to Hinckley by running in five first-half tries as they overwhelmed Chester (11th) 42-0 in a commanding home performance.
Barnstaple (3rd) continue to entertain – and edge tight contests – as they beat Loughborough Students (12th) 36-33 at Pottington Road despite picking up three yellow cards in the second half. They will now prepare for a trip to Camborne in Round 11.
Hornets (4th) moved into the top four thanks to a 27-19 win over Lymm (5th), with Charlie Carter’s late penalty – on his 300th appearance for the club – denying the visitors a bonus point, while Hinckley (6th) continued their strong form, leading 28-0 at half-time en route to defeating Old Redcliffians (13th) 36-19 for a third victory in a row.
Cinderford (7th) snapped their losing streak with a 32-22 win over Redruth (8th), helped by second-half scores from Reilly Scriven and former Italy international Jake Polledri.
And at the foot of the table, Exeter University (10th) exploded into life after the break as they blasted past bottom club Syston 79-36. Leading 32-26 just after half-time, they cut loose in the second period, with centre Frankie Jefferies completing a hat-trick.
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