NATIONAL 1

HENLEY Hawks climbed to tenth after a 28-14 victory at basement boys Hull Ionians.

Hawks ended a five-match winless streak, despite losing No 8 Robbie Stapley (hand) and prop Alex Penny (rib) to injuries before and just after the kick off respectively, to go seven points clear of the drop zone.

Wing Christoph Bart’s fourth-minute try put Hawks ahead in a tight first half.

Scrum half Isaac Green slotted three penalties, while No 8 Mark Wigham also went over for the hosts.

Bart’s second try and fly half James Comben’s penalty had seen Henley lead 13-6, but they trailed 14-13 at the break.

Comben slotted a penalty before wing Liam O’Neill burst through for Henley’s third try.

Centre Danny Wells had a try unluckily ruled out for a forward pass from skipper Martin Nutt, but Henley were not to be denied a bonus-point score.

Replacement prop Dai Maddocks peeled off a driving maul to touch down on 73 minutes, with Comben converting, while Bart came close to completing a hat-trick.