Intercept try keeps Durham one clear of Exeter

DURHAM remain at the top of BUCS table after their 30-17 away win over third place Loughborough, while title challengers Exeter kept the pressure on with a 30-26 win over Bath Uni.

Durham remain a point clear of Exeter, while Wednesday’s defeat to the league leaders leaves Loughborough eight points behind the top two.

Loughborough head coach Rhys Edwards was disappointed with the loss but is pleased with where his team are at this stage of the season.

He said: “They’re a physical team and they were relentless. We were in the game at 18-10 but they intercepted us and went the length of the field to make it 25-10 which killed a lot of our momentum.

“We’ve got Exeter coming up soon, so we’ve still got our sights set on the top two to give us a better run in the playoffs. We’re pretty pleased to be where we are, all that hard work over the last two and a half years seems to have finally come to fruition.”

Exeter left it late to beat sixth place Bath as Arthur Thomas’ try in the final seconds secured a bonus point win. Visitors Bath left with two losing bonus points courtesy of tries from Max Keller, Alfie Garside, Elis Horgan and Tom Williams.

Cardiff beat Swansea 24-20 to go level on points with Bath, while Cardiff Met won away at Leeds Beckett 30-15 courtesy of tries from Bailey M-Telfer and a brace from Will Rigg.

Earlier this week, it was a proud moment for BUCS sides as 12 players were named across England’s, Wales’, and Scotland’s U20 Six Nations squads.

England included Mark Dormer (Durham), Alex Wardell (Loughborough) and Tom Carr-Smith and Jasper Spandler (Bath); Wales named Joe Cowell, Rhys Barratt and Morgan Lloyd (Cardiff Met), Ben Williams (Swansea) and Tom Cowan (Loughborough); and Ireland included Tom Banatvala and Jake Spurway (Durham) and Ollie Leatherbarrow (Exeter).