Of the fixtures played on April 6th only two were Yorkshire County derbies and just one a Roses game, which saw Hull RUFC at home to Fylde in a thrilling contest which Hull won 39-36 after trailing 13-17 at half-time. This was a real see-saw encounter with the lead changing hands on several occasions as two well-matched sides produced a very entertaining game.
Fylde scored six tries to Hull’s five but could only convert three of them whilst Hull had the super-marksman Reece Dean who converted four and added 2 penalties. He also scored a try in the second half to take his match total to 19 points, giving him 248 league points for the season.
Once again Hull left it late to win the game as Fylde were leading by 36-34 in the 64th minute and it looked as if they were going to win the match, but a sustained period of pressure by Hull got its reward in the 78th minute of play when centre Peter Hudson-Kowalewicz finished off a good cross-field move to score the winning try. The Man-of-the-Match award went to the Hull No8 Paulus Latu.
Huddersfield v Otley was Huddersfield’s last home match of the season and it very nearly brought them a rare victory. In a very close game Huddersfield were leading 26-21 but in the 77th minute full-back Jacob Holmes scored for Otley to level the scores but the conversion attempt hit the outside of the goal-post and bounced wide for a final score of 26-26 after the first half ended at 14-14. Will Hammond, the Huddersfield No 8 was the-Man-of the-Match.
Hull Ionians v Sheffield RUFC was probably the shock result of the day as the home side ran in nine tries to Sheffield’s two for a highly convincing victory by 48-14 after building up a 24-0 lead in the first half. Ionians needed this win in their battle to avoid relegation and they played some of their best rugby of the season, hoping to overtake fellow-strugglers Billingham. In a fixture where second from bottom beat the third from top few would have expected this result. The Ionians centre Josh Britton took the Man-0f-the-Match award.
Third from bottom Billingham v fourth from top Wharfedale proved to be a similar shock as the victory went to Billingham by 20-17 after they led 10-3 at the interval. Wharfe scored three tries to Billingham’s two but only converted one of them whilst Billingham had the match-winner in fly-half Foreman who landed two conversions and two penalties. This surprise win kept Billingham ahead of Hull Ionians in the league table but their five point lead was reduced to four points. The Man-of-the-Match went to the Billingham right-winger Joe Ross.
In another high-scoring game at Lightfoot Green Lane, Preston Grasshoppers defeated Lymm by 46-42 after trailing 22-15 at the break. The Hoppers scored eight tries to Lymm’s five but Lymm were leading 42-41 until the Hoppers left-winger and Man-of-the-Match Jack Lightowler scored an unconverted try in the 74th minute to seal the game for the Hoppers.
Finally, league leaders Leeds Tykes recovered from their first defeat of the season at Rotherham to get back to their scintillating best as they scored nine tries to two in a 55-14 demolition over Tynedale. The first half was quite even with the interval score at 14-7 to the Tykes but the Tykes ran amok during the second period, as only they can, to overwhelm their visitors. Right winger Henry McNab scored a hat-trick of tries but the Man-of the-Match award went to their full-back Callum Irvine.
The fixture between Rotherham Titans and Sheffield Tigers was postponed.
The position at the top of the table remains unchanged with Leeds Tykes now on 115 points followed by Rotherham Titans who are on 108 but with a game in hand. Sheffield RUFC are third on 85 points and Wharfedale are fourth on 74.
In the nether regions relegated Huddersfield have 22 points, Hull Ionians are on 38 points and Billingham have 42 points. Lymm are fourth from bottom on 49 points.
Top games on April 13th, based on league placings, are Tynedale v Sheffield Tigers where 6th play 7th; Lymm v Billingham where 11th play 12th; Fylde v Leeds Tykes where 5th take on 1st and Otley v Hull Ionians where 9th take on 13th.
Harrogate RUFC have been promoted from Regional North-East One as champions after their 45-27 win over Driffield and will take their place in National Two North next season after just one season at the lower level. It will be nice to see them back again and I am sure we all send our congratulations to them.
Ferensian.
HULL RUGBY UNION FOOTBALL CLUB 