The A4G pitch at The Rock in Priory Lane ensured this game was never in doubt despite the freeze, and the good-sized crowd who braved the bitter cold were rewarded with a terrific contest between the sides sitting fourth and fifth in National League One.
The match would be as tight as the final tally would suggest, with Blackheath holding the ascendancy during a scoreless final 17 minutes, but too many errors at key moments, allied to some outstanding Rosslyn Park defence, left the visitors one-point adrift at the close.
It was Park, however, who held the edge on the scoreboard for the most part, their first try coming on 16 minutes as, despite Blackheath getting across to thwart a three-man overlap, ball was kept alive, and moved inside for loose-head Conrad Cade to produce a neat offload for blind-side Harry Ledger to cross.
The visitors drew level almost immediately, as a penalty found touch, skipper Tom Baldwin drove forward, before open-side Noah Sloot powered over to score, but as half-time approached, Park tight-head Rhys Charalambous drove over at the other end after Blackheath infringed, and with fly-half Josh Bragman adding his second conversion, the hosts led 14-7.
Club fly-half Tom Ffitch struck a penalty either side of the interval to bring the visitors back within a point, but Park quickly took a grip with two scores in three minutes.
Charalambous barrelled over for his second try as play moved across field from lineout ball, and, following a bout of ping-pong (Park had the better of the aerial game) from the drop-out, Ledger and scrum-half Ewan Fenley combined down the left touchline for the latter to canter across the goal-line unmolested, and although Bragman narrowly missed with the second conversion, Park moved 13-points clear.
Blackheath’s response, though, was again immediate. As Jordan Burns darted forward off an attacking scrum, Leo Fielding punctured the defence, and with Sloot quick to the breakdown, second-row Mike Etete drove across.
Then, as the penalties began to mount against Park, and Tom Stradwick made a welcome return to action after suffering an injury in the opening match of the season, Etete rose to take Billy Harding’s lineout ball, and Sloot burrowed across for his second try.
However, Ffitch’s conversion from out wide grazed the outside of the upright leaving the visitors trailing by the smallest of margins. Wave after wave of Blackheath attacks followed, but Park had already pilfered a couple of Club lineouts and now two further steals as the visitors looked to go long frustrated them.
A missed touch-finder didn’t help, but Park’s defence in the closing stages was solid with some thumping tackles and ensured Blackheath were left short.
Next Saturday, Blackheath are back on home soil at The Utilita in Kidbrooke Lane for the visit of Birmingham Moseley. Kick-off is at 3.00 pm.
Prior to that, on Tuesday evening, the Club XV take on an Army XV side at The Utilita. Kick-off for this match is at 8.00 pm
Rosslyn Park
Tries: Ledger 16, Charalambous 38, 44, Fenley 47
Conv: Bragman 16, 38, 44
Blackheath
Tries: Sloot 20, 63, Etete 51
Conv: Ffitch 20, 51
Pens: Ffitch 40, 41
Attendance: 876
| 15 | . | Jake Hennessey |
| 14 | . | Jake Lloyd |
| 13 | . | Leo Fielding |
| 12 | . | Markus Burcham |
| 11 | . | Matt Armstrong |
| 10 | . | Tom Ffitch |
| 9 | . | Jordan Burns |
| 1 | . | Will Davis |
| 2 | . | Billy Harding |
| 3 | . | Andrew Boye |
| 4 | . | Mike Etete |
| 5 | . | Tom Everard |
| 6 | . | Josh Smart |
| 7 | . | Noah Sloot |
| 8 | . | Tom Baldwin (Capt) |
| 16 | . | Alex Witchell |
| 17 | . | Archie Holland |
| 18 | . | Rory Marsh |
| 19 | . | Jack Daly |
| 20 | . | Tom Stradwick |
Photos: Debbie Lloyd
Graham Cox
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