Bradford & Bingley 42 (Tries: Tafa 3, T Rhodes, Volschenk 2. Cons: T Rhodes 3. Pens: T Rhodes 2.)
Kendal 10 (Tries: L Ladell 2.)
Bradford & Bingley took all five points and closed the gap on second placed Macclesfield by a point to seven with seven matches to go.
Tom Rhodes gave the home side an early lead with a penalty goa before two tries from left wing Luke Ladell saw Kendal go 10-3 ahead after 31 minutes.
The home side responded well and were 18-10 ahead at the break. Centre Lisiate Tafa got their first try on 36 minutes. Three minutes later Rhodes went in for a try and JJ Simpson added the extras before Rhodes stepped up to kick a penalty goal on 40 minutes.
In the second half Tafa went onto to complete a hat trick with tries in the 43rd and 56th minutes and with Rhodes converting his final try they were 30-10 ahead and the bonus point secured.
Second row Renier Volschenk them went in for a double to round of the win and keep the pressure on Macclesfield. .
Cleckheaton 24 (Tries: Rika, Dudley, Lamptey, Benton. Cons: Akroyd 2.)
Rugby Lions 23 (Tries: Goode 2, Nash, Greenbury. Pen: Mitchell.)
Fantastic win for Cleckheaton who rise to the lofty heights of 8th in the national Three North table.
It was Rugby who got the better start and were 10-0 ahead after 16 minutes with tries form flanker Alex Nash and left wing Matt Goode. By the half hour mark the home side were ahead with tries form second row Craig Rika and No 8 John Dudley and they were both converted by Oliver Akroyd for a 14-10 lead.
Full back Allan Mitchell pulled three points back for the visitors as they trailed by a point at half time.
Four minutes in to the second half and the visitors took the lead with Goode going in for a second try and then on 53 minutes prop Philip Greenbury went in for a try and they were 23-14 ahead.
Tries ether side of the hour mark saw the home side take the lead with prop Jim Lamptey and scrum half Scott Benton going over for unconverted tries as not only did they get the win but they also picked up the four try bonus point. As they make it four wins in a row their best run of the season.
Darlington Mowden Park P ()
Fylde P (.)
M.
Dudley Kingswinford 36 (Tries: Mitchell 3, Wagstaff, Gowland, Cullen. Cons: McLellan 3.)
Bedford Athletic 19 (Tries: Bennett, Tapper, Groshans. Cons: Tapper 2.)
Bedford would hve fancied this as a winnable game and with that they move of the bottom of the table but it was not to be as they were well beaten.
DK had a great first half and were 26-0 ahead at the break and the bonus point in the bag with scrum half Allan Mitchell getting a brace with the others coming from Matt Wagstaff and Ian Gowland and Andy McLellan converted two of them.
Mitchell completed a hat trick in the opening minute of the second half and with McLellan converting they went 31-0 ahead.
Bedford though responded at this stage with three tris in 12 minutes to pull it back to 31-19. with all three tries coming from their backs.
The home side have the final word with flanker Adam Cullen touching down in the 66th minute with the final score of the match.
Halifax P (.)
Darlington P (.)
M.
Macclesfield 16 (Tries: Coulbeck, Allen. Pens: Newell 2.)
Blaydon 3 (Pen: Clappison.)
Macclesfield’s game against north easterners Blaydon, resulted in a satisfying win in the end, but it was a game where the visitors were able to slow things down and prevent the Blues from developing their game. Blaydon gained a good deal of possession with their big pack, but although they mauled the ball effectively, they rarely looked likely to break through the excellent Macclesfield defence.
The Blues, on the other hand, although having a fairly torrid first half, were able to score a brace of tries, taking their chances in the second half, when they arose. Director of rugby, Steve Rule, said: “Blaydon made it hard for us in the first half. We were unable to develop any patterns of play. We needed to show our character in the second half and I was pleased by the way we dogged it out to secure the victory.”
From the kick off Macc were straight onto the offensive, pushing Blaydon back into their own half with some good driving from the pack, but when a try seemed a certainty, the opportunity was fluffed, and the visitors were able to clear their lines.
Blaydon fought back and had their first opportunity to put points on the board with a penalty after eight minutes, but the chance was wasted. Further opportunities came the Blues way but Blaydon always seemed to be able to spoil at the right moment, and it remained nil nil, until the thirtieth minute when Mike Newell converted a penalty to open the scoring. 3-0.
This disjointed half continued, with neither side impressing, and it was a relief to hear the referee’s whistle after eight and a half minutes of injury time.
The second half began in the same vein and it was not until the fifty fifth minute, when Blaydon flanker Marwick was sin binned for repeatedly infringing that the game changed. Flanker Rick Jones entered the fray, replacing Ian Lear, with Dave Muckalt moving to the second row. Although the penalty attempt from the sin binning went wide, the Blues were soon on the attack and when a bullocking run from prop Scott Goodfellow put Macc in a good position, the ball was quickly moved wide and full back Ben Coulbeck was on hand to cut through to score an excellent try, which was not converted. 8-0.
Further pressure from Macc, whilst Blaydon were a man down, produced another Newell penalty after sixty-four minutes, before Ben Whiting, playing his last game at Macclesfield, replaced Newell.
However Blaydon continued to work hard to make life very uncomfortable for the Blues, and clawed back three points with a penalty from Clappison, after forty nine minutes, but their hopes of victory were severely dented some five minutes later, when Macc broke out and a short pass from Muckalt put hooker Pete Allen in the clear. He dummied one man then cut through to score a good try. The conversion attempt failed. 16-3.
The final few minutes of the game saw Blaydon encamped on the Blues line, throwing everything except the kitchen sink at Macc, but, the superb Blues defence never gave an inch, and the visitors came away disappointed.
Peter Jones
Tynedale 19 (Tries: MacLoughlin, Southern. Pens: Massey 3.)
New Brighton 26 (Tries: Bradshaw, Pennington, Tuihalamaka, Kettle. Cons: Dean 3.)
Excellent away win for New Brighton who move above Tynedale in the league table by two points although they have played a game more than the North East side.
William Massey gave the home side a 6-0 lead with penalties in the 6th and 14th minutes.
The visitors responded with a couple of tries as second row Richard Bradshaw and wing Matt Pennington touching down and Stephen Dean adding a conversion to make it 12-6 after 32 minutes. Before half time the home side pulled three points back with a third Massey penalty goal.
In the second half New Brighton were further ahead four minutes in when centre Sengili Tuihalamaka went over and Dean converted. They secured the bonus point on 70 minutes with flanker Adam Kettle touching down and Dean converting for 26-9. In the final 10 minutes the home side did manage to cross the visitors line a couple of times but it was not enough and New Brighton took the win. |
