Hull climbed to seventh in National Two North with a hard-fought 34-21 win against Sheffield Tigers.
The victory, played in gusty condition, means Hull are now 14 points clear of Otley who occupy 14th place in the table.
The home side kicked off with the wind advantage and after Sheffield knocked on in the first minute Hull piled on the pressure only for Sheffield’s full back Peter Swatkins to clear his lines from within his own ’22’.
Hull were soon back in the opposition half and when they won a ruck 50 yards out, scrum-half Harvey Harding picked up the ball and opened Hull’s account with a great score dummying his way over for an unconverted try after seven minutes.
Five minutes later after Hull won a Sheffield Tigers line-out 20 yards out, they powered to the try line for Charlie Beech to force his way over for Hull’s second unconverted try.
Hull were making good use of the wind and when they got a penalty after 23 minutes they opted for a kick to touch. They won the line-out and although held up over the line they won the ensuing scrum and kept possession long enough for back row man Laurence Cowan to drive over for Hull’s third unconverted try after 27 minutes.
Hull’s next score was not long in coming as almost immediately, hooker Ali Thompson’s 40-break from a ruck on the halfway line opened up the visitors defence and three phases later skipper Ali Heard took a short pass to blast through two tackles and score Hull’s fourth try. Simon Humberstone converted to see Hull lead 22-0 after half an hour.
Hull were now controlling the game and a deft kick to the corner seven minutes later saw Sheffield concede the line-out. Hull drove over with back row man Will Hall getting the try with Humberstone converting to see Hull lead 29-0 at half-time.
The second half saw Sheffield score two early tries from their efficient catch-and-drives from line-outs with second rowers Anthony Symcox and James Newman getting the touchdowns with Mark Ireland’s conversions seeing the visitors reduce the arrears to 15 points and give them a foothold in the game after just 53 minutes.
Hull then recovered their composure and worked their way upfield and after the ball was won near the Sheffield line it was worked left and Humberstone darted through a gap to score an unconverted try after 58 minutes.
As the game entered the last quarter Sheffield were able to use the wind and kept Hull in their own half, but Hull’s defence held. However, when Hull’s second row man Liam Regardsoe was yellow-carded, Sheffield used that advantage and scored a third try from close range through their number six Lee Monks. Mark Ireland’s conversion saw the visitors trailing 34-21 but they were unable to add to their score leaving Hull relatively comfortable winners and easing their way up the table.
HULL RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB 