National 2 North Weekly Round-Up

Of the fixtures played on March 8^th in N2N only two were Yorkshire county  derbies and only one a Roses clash. On a day when two of the bottom four posted unexpected victories and Sheffield Tigers earning two bonus points at Tynedale the relegation battle has become more intense.  

Sheffield RUFC travelled to Wharfedale and received a severe set-back to their title hopes when they were beaten by 36-21 after trailing by 22-14 at half-time. Wharfe gave a display described as “at their majestic best”, scoring five tries to Sheffield’s three, but they had a lot to thank their fly-half Luke Davidson for as he converted all of their tries and added a penalty goal for good measure for  a total of 13 points. The Man-of-the -Match award went to the Wharfe flanker Ben Blackwell.  Attendance 485.

Hull Ionians were the visitors at Harrogate’s Apollo Capital Stadium where the home side posted a 35-23 victory after trailing 17-14 at the break. 

‘Gate scored five tries to Ionians three to pick up five badly-needed points in their battle against relegation. The Harrogate full-back Rory Macnab converted all of his sides and was voted Man-of-the-Match for his efforts.  Attendance 200.

In the Roses clash at Otley the home side won by 19-18 to beat Fylde who trailed 13-12 at the break.  Otley only scored one try to two from Fylde

and they won the game in the 7^th minute when Callum Irvine kicked a penalty goal to secure the victory for his side. The Man-of-the-Match was Otley’s Sam Hodges.  Attendance 600 – the highest of the day in N2N.

Hull RUFC were at home to Chester and despite being without four of their most prominent players had a good start to the game when they took a 17-3 lead before Chester rallied very well to lead by 18-17 at the interval. The second half belonged to the visitors who scored 22 unanswered points for a 40-7 victory. Hull were very poor in the second half and with the other bottom  sides all winning will have to improve their standard if they are to avoid relegation. The Man-of-the-Match was the Chester back-rower Harry Roberts.  Attendance 225.

In  a game where both sides scored six tries at Station Road, Corbridge, Tynedale and Sheffield Tigers had “a ding-dong battle” before Tyne won the game by 43-38 after leading 26-7 at the break. It was a hard-earned win as the Tigers fully deserved the two bonus points on offer after a strong second-half performance. The Man-of-the-Match was the Tyne centre Cameron Grant who landed six conversions and a penalty goal. Attendance 370.

Billingham defeated Preston Grasshoppers by 29-19 after a hard-fought match in which they scored four tries to the Hoppers three, forcing their visitors into the bottom four for the first time this season. The home side led 10-0 at the break and were never behind in the game. Man-of-the-Match honours went to Joseph Scarborough, the Billingham right winger.   Attendance 422.

Finally, league leaders Leeds Tykes soundly defeated third-placed Lymm by 52-10 after leading 21-10 at the break. They scored eight tries to two by Lymm, six of which were converted and now have the title within their grasp after Sheffield’s loss at Tynedale.  The Man-of-the-Match was the Leeds centre Tom Williams.  Attendance 429.

The situation at the top is still unchanged with Leeds on 99 points, Sheffield RUFC on 90, Lymm on 81 and Fylde on 68. In the nether regions Sheffield Tigers have moved up one place out of the bottom four which now shows Preston Grasshoppers on 45 points, Hull RUFC on 41, Harrogate on 38 and Billingham on 36,

My top four games for March 15th, based on league placings, are;

Sheffield Tigers v Otley – 9th v 10th
Hull  Ionians v Sheffield – 8th v 2nd
Fylde v Hull – 4^th v 12th
Chester v Leeds Tykes – 7^th v  1st.

Wherever you are enjoy your rugby.

Ferensian.