Hartpury stormed back from a nine-point half-time deficit to secure a commanding 41-26 victory over Cornish Pirates.

 

Pirates dominated the first half, with Cameron Jones, William Trewin, and Robin Wedlake-Millecam scoring tries to build a 19-0 lead.

 

Hartpury responded through Aristot Benz-Salomon’s try from a driving maul, with Harry Bazalgette adding the conversion and a penalty to narrow the gap to 19-10 at the break.

 

Hartpury came out firing in the second half, with Mike Austin’s breakaway try and Bazalgette’s kick making it a two-point game.

 

Benz-Salomon crossed again from a maul to give the hosts their first lead at 24-19, and Oliver Holiday extended the advantage with a smartly taken kick-and-chase try.

 

Doncaster Knights delivered a commanding second-half performance to defeat Caldy 43-19 in the Premiership Rugby Cup, securing a bonus-point win at Paton Field.

 

The hosts struck first through Will Robinson after a clever inside pass, but Doncaster quickly responded with Morgan Strong powering over under the posts.

 

Caldy regained the lead with a Matt Gallagher try following relentless pressure, but Zach Kerr’s solo effort late in the half sent the Knights into the break 14-12 ahead.

 

The Knights came out firing in the second half, with Alex Dolly’s penalty extending their lead before Tom Currie drove over from close range to make it 24-12.

 

Jordan Olowofela’s try secured the bonus point, and Semesa Rokoduguni added another in the corner after a pinpoint pass from Morgan Bunting.

 

Bunting capped off a superb display by finishing a slick grubber from Oliver Fox, taking the Knights to 43-12. Caldy managed a late consolation try through their maul, but Doncaster’s dominance was never in doubt.

 

 

Ealing Trailfinders delivered a dominant performance to defeat London Scottish 36-5 at Trailfinders Sports Club, securing a bonus-point win in the cup.

 

Jordan Holgate set the tone early, scoring in the sixth minute off a well-executed lineout move, with Craig Willis adding the extras.

 

London Scottish responded through Zach Carr in the corner, but a missed conversion kept Trailfinders ahead at 7-5.

 

 

Bedford Blues battled valiantly but fell 21-7 to a late surge from Premiership side Bath in challenging conditions at Goldington Road.

 

However, Bath's Premiership quality began to shine through in the final 20 minutes.

 

Alfie Barbeary powered over to level the scores, and Kepu Tuipulotu’s try four minutes later turned the tide in the visitors' favour.

Barbeary’s second of the afternoon sealed the result, with Orlando Bailey adding the extras to cap off a strong Bath finish.

 

 

Coventry put up a spirited fight in front of 5,000 home fans, but were edged out 19-10 by Northampton Saints in a hard-fought contest at Butts Park Arena.

 

Saints struck first through full-back George Hendy, who raced 70 meters to score after breaking through a tackle in the 14th minute. George Makepeace-Cubitt added the conversion to make it 7-0.

 

Coventry started the second half strongly, with Ryan Hutler finishing off a perfectly weighted box kick from Josh Barton to give the hosts a 10-7 lead.

Nottingham welcomed a record crowd to The Bay for their 70-29 defeat to Leicester Tigers.

 

The 11-time English champions put on a clinic in front of a 3,690-strong crowd, running in 10 tries to Nottingham’s five in a Friday night thriller.

 

Nottingham shot out of the blocks, grabbing the first two tries of the game courtesy of Harry Clayton and Jacob Wright.

 

Tigers soon found their stride though, with captain Matt Rogerson, Ollie Allan, Archie Vanes and Solomone Kata scoring without reply to hand Tigers a 28-12 lead at the break.

 

Michael Cheika's side turned up the pressure after half-time. Kata’s centre partner Izaia Perese scored a silky individual try, before prop James Whitcombe matched that effort with some dazzling feet of his own.

 

Jack Kinder and Ollie Hassell-Collins got in on the act, the latter’s try being the pick of the Tigers' bunch on the night.

 

Nottingham’s Wright, Sam Green and Harry Graham all crossed in a spectacular second half to give the home faithful something to cheer but it was Tigers who had the final say with tries from Emeka Ilione, in front of his hometown support, and a second from Hassell-Collins rubber-stamping Tigers a convincing win.

 

Ampthill took an early lead away to Bristol Bears, but in the end it was the home side who proved far too strong on their way to a 40-15 victory at Ashton Gate.

 

Beaten in their first two games of the Premiership Rugby Cup, Ampthill travelled to a Bears team stung by a heavy derby defeat to Bath.

 

Josh Barton gave the visitors an early lead with a penalty, but Bears fought back and had the bonus point in the bag five minutes before half-time, Callum Norrie sent to the sin-bin after conceding a penalty try.

 

Oscar Lennon added another before half-time to make it 33-3, but Ampthill started the second half brightly, rewarded at last with a try from Kerr Johnston just before the hour.

 

Bears were restricted to just one try in the second half, which Ampthill ended up winning 12-7 thanks to a second try at the death from Richard Barrington.