Blaydon 37 (Tries: I Segi Barber 2, Whitehead, Clarke, Marwick. Cons: Clappison 2. Pen: Clappison.).
Hull Ionians 5 (Try: Cain.).
Blaydon remain six points behind leaders Bradford & Bingley after this home win but did pick up a point on third placed Nuneaton.
Blaydon were in front early on when centre Isoa Segi went over for a try and Dan Clappison converted.
By half time they had run in four more tries and built up a 30-5 lead with winger Simon Barber completing a double.
In the second half they added just one more score when replacement Dave Marwick went over for an injury time try.
Bradford & Bingley 32 (Tries: Leota, Hall, Judson, Simpson, Heta, Volschenk. Cons: Simpson 2.).
Preston Grasshoppers 21 (Tries: Morton, Wilson, Viney. Cons: Bailey 2, Viney.).
Bradford & Bingley maintained their six point lead over Blaydon at the top of the table with this win over Preston Grasshoppers at Wagon Lane.
The Bees made a good start and were 19-0 ahead in the opening 21 minutes after tries from centre John Leota, prop Peter Hall and flanker Ian Judson with Joe Simpson slotting over a couple of conversions.
Hoppers got on the scoreboard just before the break with No 8 Richard Morton going over and Paul Bailey converting.
Simpson slotted over a penalty goal early in the second half but Hoppers hit back with a second try in the 65th minute when scrum half Darren Wilson touched down and Bailey converted to leave Hoppers eight points adrift.
The Bees responded with a brace of tries to take control again with scrum half Joe Heta and second row Renier Volschenk touching down to make it 32-14.
Hoppers got the final score with Oliver Viney going in for his 19th try of the season.
Cleckheaton 24 (Tries: Lauriston, Rushworth 2, Murray. Cons: Quinn 2.).
Darlington 48 (Tries: C Lee, Taylor, Palmer, Brown 2, Howe, Snowball. Cons: Davis 5. Pen: Davis.).
Sixth Darlington join fifth placed Preston Grasshoppers on 68 points after picking up all five points in this away win at Cleckheaton.
The home side made the better start and were 12-0 ahead after just seven minutes with tries from centre Tom Lauriston and wing James Rushworth and Chris Quinn added a conversion.
It was 20 minutes before another score as the visitors went over for a try from centre Craig Lee and Lee Davis converted.
Before half time they took the lead with flanker Michael Taylor going over for the second try and Davis converted.
Davis extended the lead after the break with a penalty goal before scoring three tries to take control of the match at 36-12 after 65 minutes.
Rushworth got a second try before the Darlington ran in two more to wrap up the result and move into a 48-17 lead before Cleckheaton got the final score of the match.
Darlington Mowden Park 17 (Tries: Foreman, Visser. Cons: Mellalieu 2. Pen: Mellalieu.).
Nuneaton 19 (Try: Critchley. Con: Cull. Pens: Cull 4.).
Nuneaton got the win in a tough match against a much improved Darlington Mowden Park to fall a further point behind the top two.
Nuneaton found themselves in trouble after just three minutes with Mowden Park 14-0 ahead after tries from scrum half Andrew Foreman and centre Tim Visser both converted by Anthony Mellalieu. Nuneaton lost left wing Ben Toft and prop John Beart to early injuries.
They responded with a try of their own in the 9th minute through flanker Ian Critchley and Gareth Cull added the extras and four minutes later slotted over a penalty goal to make it 14-10.
Before half time Mellalieu and Cull exchanged penalty goals and the home side went in 17-13 ahead.
In the second half Cull kicked the visitors in front with penalty goals in the 49th and 61st minutes to give the visitors a narrow and much needed win. .
Macclesfield 37 (Tries: Jones, Kerr 2, Watts, Coulbeck. Cons: Winney 3. Pens: Winney 2.).
Kendal 10 (Try: J Ladell. Con: Park. Pen: Park.).
Macclesfield up to 10th place after this home win over bottom of the table Kendal.
Following a simple plan of getting beyond the gain line, was enough to see the Blues come away with the win and the try bonus point, when they entertained Kendal at Priory Park.
There was a much better feel to the team throughout the game and whenever the Blues threatened the usual result was for them to come away with points. Five tries were scored by them, Ross Winney converted three, and kicked two penalties, and strong defence in the second half, restricted Kendal to a converted try and a penalty, when they were looking likely to get back into the game.
It was clear from the start, that the visitors were a much better outfit than that played against early in December, and the Blues had to defend stubbornly to keep them out. However, Kendal did force Macc to concede a penalty which Chris Park converted to put them in front. But, when Macc got hold of the ball, hooker Pete Allen made good ground before off-loading, and some tremendous handling and support, split the Kendal defence apart, and flanker Rick Jones took the scoring pass to touch down under the posts. Winney’s conversion put Macc into the lead which they were never to lose.
Soon afterwards, Tim Kerr stole a Kendal Lineout and after a good forward drive, he popped up again to break through Kendal’s defence to add to the Blues’ score. In spite of this set back, Kendal continued to keep the game flowing, taking quick tap penalties and moving the ball wide, and when fly half Simon Mulholland made an incisive break, he drew the cover and put winger John Ladell in at the corner. Park converted. 12-10.
Again, the Blues looked dangerous in possession and were frequently breaking the gain line to create possible chances, and when Winney used his guile to confuse the visitors, winger Jim Watts was on hand to take the pass and score and with Winney converting Macc were 19-10 up with less than twenty five minutes gone. Before half time, Winney added two penalties to the tally and put Macc three scores in front.
Kendal regrouped and came back at the Blues to put them under a great deal of pressure, and remained encamped on the Macc five metre line for a lengthy period, but the Blues defence proved to be too strong in spite of losing lock Will Stockdale to the sin bin. Clearly, Kendal were disappointed not to come away with points during this time.
Then, when Macc did break out, their attacking flair proved too much for the visitors and they immediately scored through a well taken try from fullback Ben Coulbeck, and sealed Kendal’s fate. Although they were fighting a lost cause, it is to their credit that at no time did Kendal throw in the towel, and with the support of their vociferous followers, they pushed Macc to the end. But the strength of the Blues pack proved just too much, and when replacement Ollie Hewitt produced one of his characteristic bulldozing runs, Kerr once again appeared on his shoulder to take the glory with the final score.
Tynedale 45 (Tries: Belgian, Harrison, Smales, Scott, Duncan, Milburn. Cons: Belgian 6. Pen: Belgian).
Leicester Lions 15 (Tries: Yuill, Collins. Con: Yuill. Pen: Yuill.).
Tynedale are up to fourth spot after this comprehensive win over Leicester Lions at Tynedale Park.
Comprehensive win for Tynedale who ran in six tries as they build on a 21-15 half time lead.
The home side were 14-0 up in the first 15 minutes with tries form centre Phil Belgian and right wing Jack Harrison which were both converted by Belgian. The Lions hit back and were in front with five minutes of the first half remaining. Centre Dan Yuill and wing Gareth Collins went in for tries and Yuill added five points with the boot to make it 15-14. Before half time though Tynedale regained the lead with left wing Hamish Smales going in and Belgian again converting.
Belgian extended the home lead with an early penalty goal in the second half before second row Paul Scott went in for the bonus point try and Belgian converted to make it 31-15.
In the final quarter the home side ran in two more tries to complete the win comfortably
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