Hartpury College 29 Yorkshire Carnegie 29: Carnegie escape surprisingly tough exam with a draw

That was mainly because of how bad his side had been in the first period when they conceded four tries and trailed 26-11 at half-time.

Granted, they rallied with tries of their own in the final quarter from Chris Wolfe-Elder and Louis Brown before taking a 29-26 lead with Alex Davies’ 71st-minute penalty.

It seemed they would build on the previous week’s narrow win over Doncaster Knights yet they infringed having failed to clear their lines and, so, Jacob Perry drew Hartpury level in the first meeting between the sides. Hooker Luke Stratford (2), scrum-half Harry Randall and flanker Matthew Gilbert all crossed for Hartpury, James Williams adding three conversions, as the promoted side showed just what has made them such a dangerous side.

Carnegie only crossed via Pete Lucock but sorted themselves out to rescue something, Davies finishing with four penalties and two conversions.

Still, Carnegie – who saw Davies’ conversion attempt of Brown’s try strike a post – thought they had won it when James Thraves plunged over.But, officials deemed the prop had been held up over the line.