Amps turn up the power to jump to top of the pile
BLACKHEATH head coach James Shanahan could not hide his disappointment as his league-leading side were comfortably beaten by Ampthill.
Before the match, Ampthill were three places behind league leaders Blackheath, but by the end, the congested nature of National League 1 meant that Ampthill leapfrogged their hosts to the league’s summit.
Ampthill’s William Allman – who replaced Joseph Bercis after 11 minutes – gave a masterful back-row performance. His tackles packed a punch, he carried incisively and he won several turnovers in a masterclass that made all the difference.
Shanahan said: “I told the boys before the game that we have to be very good as individuals, as well as a collective.
“Today, I thought Markus Burcham, our captain, was outstanding and there were probably three or four others that were decent. Then the rest were just OK.
“But OK is not good enough if you’re going to play a quality team like Ampthill. OK’s not good enough if you want to win the league. Credit to Ampthill.”
Ampthill’s first try was a simple one. Scrum-half Kevin Barrett exploited a narrow blindside and unleashed full-back Will Foster who dashed 40 metres to score untouched. It would not be long before Ampthill were back, with the referee correctly awarding them a penalty try after Blackheath deliberately collapsed an advancing maul. The hosts found themselves 12-0 down after 25 minutes and the home crowd was stunned. Ampthill were not the only team with an organised maul, however, as Blackheath scored from a catch and drive of their own. But the visitors did not seem flustered as they had the last laugh of the first-half. Their calm buildup play was rewarded as Samuel Hanks made a piercing break for Allman to score under the posts. James Pritchard converted and Ampthill were in the driving seat at the break.
Blackheath rallied with a devastating 12-minute burst. Alex Pickersgill ran a superb line to get his side back into the game – which Tarrant converted – and
Danny Herriott scored off another catch and drive maul. The match was suddenly evenly poised at 19-17 to Ampthill.
However, the hosts would not score another point until the 80th minute. Ampthill placed trust in their slick line-out, scoring two further catch and drive tries – both by replacement Tadgh McElroy – to put the result beyond doubt. Blackheath’s valiant effort secured them two losing bonus points, thanks to a Frederick Owen converted try – but the day belonged to Ampthill.
Ampthill head coach Paul Turner said: “We’ve hit a bit of form in the last couple of weeks. We felt we had control of the game today. We had a good firsthalf, and then we lost a little bit of control after half-time when they brought themselves back into it, but I thought we were quite dominant near the end.”