On the first Saturday of the New Year five matches were played in National Two North from back on December 2nd when all but one game of the programme were cancelled due to extremely bad weather conditions. There were two Yorkshire derbies and one Roses clash in this report and we begin with the Fylde v Hull RUFC fixture at The Woodlands.
Hull RUFC travelled to the west coast for the game against Fylde, played before the biggest crowd of the day (607). Hull scored the first and the last points in this game but in between the home side ran in five converted tries to win by 35-8 after leading 14-3 at the break. Hull showed a lot of grit and were the equals of Fylde in the forward exchanges, but they had little answer to the fast-running Fylde back division who proved to be the winning influence in the game.
Fly-half Greg Smith scored a try and converted all five tries, but the Man-of-the-Match award went to centre Sam Stott of Fylde. Hull lost their No8 Will Hall through an injury in just the second minute to add to their already long injury list. Hull had long periods of play in the Fylde half of the field but a resolute defence held kept them at bay before Hull prop Tomas Bairstow ran fifty yards for the final try of the game.
Rotherham Titans entertained Sheffield Tigers who were only 7-3 down at the interval after giving a very good showing against their more powerful opponents. Things changed in the second period when the Titans showed why they are second in the table as they ran in four converted tries to win by 35-17. Two late converted tries from the Tigers made the score much more respectable and the Titans centre Harry Dunn took the Man-of-the-Match award.
Hull Ionians were no match for a rampant Sheffield RUFC who ran in six tries at Abbeydale in a 40-10 victory after leading 21-10 at the break. That score remained unchanged until the 60th minute when they hit a magic spell to score three tries in the 60th, 64th and 69th minutes to give themselves a thirty point lead with only ten minutes of play remaining. This was Sheffield’s sixth consecutive victory and Hull Ionians seventh successive defeat. The Man-of-the Match award went to Sheffield’s prop Ben Whitney.
League leaders Leeds Tykes maintained their 100% record after hosts Tynedale had given them a very hard time during the first half at their Station Road ground. Tyne built up a 12-0 lead before the Tykes hit back to lead 14-12 at half-time. The visitors took complete control during the second period to run in three more tries for a final score of 35-12. The Tykes centre Charlie Venables scored a hat-trick of tries to take the Man-of-the-Match award.
Finally, Huddersfield broke their long losing sequence to post their second win of the season when they defeated fellow strugglers Billingham at Lockwood Park by 24-8 after leading 10-3 at the break. They also scored four tries to take maximum points from the game. This win ended their ten-match losing streak and is their only home win of the season. The Man-of-the-Match award went to the Huddersfield No8 Lewis Quinn.
The situation at the top of the table remains unchanged with Leeds Tykes on 69 points, Rotherham Titans on 63 and Sheffield RUFC on 50. Fylde’s win over Hull RUFC moves them into fourth spot on 48 points.
In the nether regions Huddersfield are bottom on 12 points, Hull Ionians on 22 and Billingham also on 22.
The top games this week (based on league placings) sees 5th placed Wharfedale at home to 6thplaced Tynedale and 7th placed Sheffield Tigers at home to 10th placed Otley, The remaining five fixtures will probably go to the sides with the highest league placing. These games are Hull RUFC v Huddersfield, Billingham v Fylde, Leeds Tykes v Hull Ionians, Preston Grasshoppers v Sheffield RUFC and Lymm v Rotherham Titans.
Ferensian.
HULL RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB 