Photos courtesy of Ian Clark.
A decent margin of victory in their first match of the 2025-26 National League One season, and Blackheath dominant for the most part, but the Club had to work hard at times, especially midway through the second period when the newly-promoted Gloucestershire side had the visitors under the cosh.
Eventually, Clifton number eight Harry Hone bundled across the goal-line, and with James McKinney’s conversion, the arrears were reduced to just ten points with twelve minutes remaining.
However, the visitors quickly re-asserted their authority, going through the phases with number-eight Finn Osborne and wing Tom Emery, two of no less than ten players making their Club league debuts, making ground, before Billy Harding scored his second try of the match to seal the contest.
“It took us a while to build into the game and break Clifton down, but when we did, we had a really good purple patch after half-time where we capitalised and ran in a couple of good tries,” said Harding.
“Then though, we had to dig in deep on our line for around fifteen minutes while they threw everything at us but managed to limit them to one score.
“That’s National One in a nutshell, there are no easy games and you’re not going to have the rub of the green for the full eighty, so you need to take advantage when you have the opportunities and hold firm when under pressure.”
On a warm and sunny, but breezy, afternoon at Cribbs Causeway it was Clifton who got the better start, Tom Hargan sending a perfectly weighted diagonal kick to the right corner for his opposite wing Zak Hamid to ground.
Blackheath were soon on level terms as Ed Scragg took lineout ball and Oskar Hirskyj-Douglas found a gaping hole in defence to send Sam Morley across for a try on the fly-half’s debut.
With a growing dominance at the set-piece, Noah Sloot was powered across as Archie Bourne again found Scragg at the lineout, but a McKinney penalty on the stroke of the interval kept it tight at 12-10 to the visitors at the break.
Fifteen unanswered points within twelve minutes of the re-start, however, put Blackheath firmly in command.
Ed Dunford slotted a penalty after Osborne, Morley and Archie Smeaton had broken clear, and lovely handling from Dunford, Jake Hennessey and Hirskyj-Douglas sent Emery across for a fine try.
Archie Holland was held up, but Harding touched down at the base of the maul which, with Dunford’s conversion, gave Blackheath a 27-10 advantage, but Clifton would keep testing the visitors to the end.
Blackheath host Bishop’s Stortford next Saturday in their first home league game of the new season. Kick off at Utilita Well Hall in Kidbrooke Lane is at 3.00 pm.
Clifton
Tries: Hamid 7, Hone 68
Conv: McKinney 7, 68
Pens: McKinney 39
Blackheath
Tries: Morley 14, Sloot 25, Emery 44, Harding 52, 72
Conv: Dunford 14, 52, 72
Pens: Dunford 42
Attendance: 362
| 15 | . | Ed Dunford |
| 14 | . | Oscar Daniel |
| 13 | . | Jake Hennessey |
| 12 | . | Oskar Hirskyj-Douglas |
| 11 | . | Tom Emery |
| 10 | . | Sam Morley |
| 9 | . | Jordan Burns |
| 1 | . | Archie Holland |
| 2 | . | Archie Bourne |
| 3 | . | Rory Marsh |
| 4 | . | Archie Smeaton |
| 5 | . | Ed Scragg |
| 6 | . | Josh Smart (Capt) |
| 7 | . | Noah Sloot |
| 8 | . | Finn Osborne |
| 16 | . | Billy Harding |
| 17 | . | James Cornish |
| 18 | . | Fin O’Sullivan |
| 19 | . | Raff Hollister |
| 20 | . | Kyle McGhie |
Graham Cox
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