Harrogate leap out of bottom three

A nail-biting victory for Harrogate over Luctonians in Round 18 moved the Yorkshire side out of the relegation zone for the first time this season.

Harrogate held on for their fifth win of the campaign which continues an upturn in fortunes for the men from Ruddling Lane.

A fellow Yorkshire club involved in this relegation battle, Sheffield Tigers, are having contrasting results at present as they slipped to their 10^th straight defeat as they were beaten by Leicester Lions despite a much improved performance.

At the right end of the table, Caldy’s lead has been extended after they secured a bonus-point win over bottom of the table Preston Grasshoppers, while Sale FC could only managed four points from their hard-fought victory against South Leicester.

Fellow promotion chasers Stourbridge secured their fifth consecutive win, but Sedgley Park lost ground as they were well beaten by an impressive Hinckley side. Elsewhere, Chester moved into the top six and Wharefdale v Tynedale was postponed.

Caldy 57-17 Preston Grasshoppers

Caldy extended their unbeaten run to 17 matches in National Two North with a comfortable win over Preston Grasshoppers.

The Wirral side began the day nine points clear at the top of this division and strengthened their title bid further with this emphatic victory.

Caldy ran in a total of nine tries, with Jack Lavin dotting down on four occasions as he finished the afternoon with an impressive 32-point haul.

There was a brace from winger Nick Royle, while JJ Dickinson, Rhys Hayes and John Broxson all crossed for the league leaders.

There was scant consolation for a tireless Preston side, who were rewarded with deserved tries from Chris Taylor and Phil Mills.

Sale FC 20-14 South Leicester

Second placed Sale FC came from 7-5 down at half-time to record a fine win over South Leicester.

A converted try put the Green and Whites ahead before Tom Ailes darted over the hosts to reduce South’s lead to two points heading into the break.

After an uneventful first 40, it was Sale’s turn to go in front as Ollie Longmore plunged over the line just after the interval. However, the visitors responded almost immediately with their second try of the day to edge ahead once again.

South withstood severe pressure soon after, but their defence finally buckled as Liam McGovern slotted over a penalty before Scott Rawlings crossed on the hour.

From there, Sale were able to see out the victory which keeps them in the play-off spot as things stand while South have dropped to seventh.

Scunthorpe 15-26 Stourbridge

Stourbridge secured their fifth win on the spin to move up to third in the National Two North table after an impressive victory over Scunthorpe at Heslam Park.

Flanker Nigel Mukarati touched down in the first half for Stour, but it was the hosts that were 10-7 to the good at the break thanks to scores from Jack Barron and Paul Cook.

The visitors clicked into gear after the break and capitalised on their second-half dominance to take the game away from Scunthorpe.

Luke White, Dan Rundle and a penalty try saw Stour take a 16 point lead before James Dyson scored a late consolation try for the home side after Chris Scott was yellow-carded.

Leicester Lions 32-17 Sheffield Tigers

National Two North play-off hopefuls Leicester Lions produced a superb second-half performance to secure a bonus-point win against Sheffield Tigers.

Jon Boden put the Lions ahead with a penalty after eight minutes but two converted tries gave the Tigers a 12-3 advantage. Jamel Hamilton responded for Leicester, but it was the visitors who went into half-time with a 17-8 lead as they crossed for their third try of the afternoon.

However, the tables turned in the second-half as a flurry of tries saw Joe Newton-Taylor and Devon Constant score for the Lions to put them ahead in this encounter.

Constant then crossed again and was followed over by Sam Benjamin to wrap up this hard-fought victory for Leicester while Sheffield Tigers’ losing streak continues.

Sedgley Park 5-36 Hinckley

Hinckley continued their impressive season following promotion from National Three as they secured a superb and well-deserved victory over Sedgley Park.

The Midlands side, who have played four of the top five sides in their last five matches, led 12-0 at the break thanks to scores from Alex Salt and Mitch Lamb.

Sedge responded straight after the interval through flanker Skofic, but that was as good as it got for the hosts despite them controlling proceedings in the first 20 minutes of the second-half.

The home side received a yellow-card in the final quarter of this match and Hinckley took full advantage as Steve Harvey and Glen Murray secured the bonus-point for the Leicestershire side who have now won nine of their last 12 matches.

Chester 26-12 Otley

Chester secured back to back victories to move into the top six in National Two North after this victory over Otley at Hare Lane.

The Cheshire side took the lead through a Shaun Strudwick try, but Otley hit back with two Tom Hodson penalties.

However, the hosts were able to extend their advantage before the break as Guy Ford dived over in the corner and a try from Will Brown just after the interval increased Chester’s lead to 13 points.

Otley fought back again through the boots of Hodgson and Max Johnson, but a Harrison Vare score four minutes from time saw Chester home.

Harrogate 26-24 Luctonians

Harrogate had to withstand a late surge from Luctonians to secure their fifth victory of the season which lifted them out of the relegation zone.

Having conceded an early penalty, Harrogate carried a 12-10 lead into half-time as Keane Naylor and Connor Ward crossed for the hosts while Joe Kelly added to Louis Silver’s three points for the Lucts.

The visitors then went ahead shortly after the restart as Henry Monkley drove over, but it was short lived as Guy Coser barged his way across the whitewash to restore Harrogate’s lead.

A superb Oli Rosillo try looked to have taken the game away from Luctonians, but the Herefordshire side battled back to set-up a nervy finish. Sam Brady was yellow-carded for ‘Gate and as a result, Tom Dodd touched down to reduce the hosts’ lead to just two points.

However, Harrogate were able to hold on for an important win which sees them move out of the bottom three while Luctonians are now five points clear of the drop.