National League Two North Round-up

Weekend Review: Chester continued their impressive recent form to maintain a solid position in the top three of the division.

Once again, it was Chester grabbing all the plaudits after Round Eight of the National League Two North as they ousted Sedgley Park 13-23 at Park Lane.

Last week, they beat league leaders Ampthill and District and after Saturday’s performance they have firmly put themselves in the hat to challenge for the title this season.

Before the start of the season Sedgley Park were one of the favourites to win the league and described Chester’s performance on the weekend as a “master class.” The Tigers had to hang on for long spells in the final quarter of the match otherwise they could have been embarrassed.

It was a superb all round performance from the visitors who are currently playing with a swagger and brimming with confidence after winning their last four matches. As for Sedgley,  they find themselves nine points of the pace and out of the top four for the first time this season.

Ampthill returned to winning ways to stay top of the league after beating Harrogate 53-7. The Premiership experience in their side shone through against a Harrogate side who were hit with food poisoning in the week. This defeat was the Yorkshire sides first in six matches.

Hull Ionains kept the pressure on Ampthill as they travelled to Birmingham and just came away, with a 20-29 victory. It was clear they were nowhere near the standards which they have set all season so far. The B’s were injury hit, but put on a valiant display to frustrate the visitors.

Otley moved into the top four for the first time this season and deserve to be there after winning four of their last five matches. They put Huddersfield to the sword on Saturday winning 47-7 in the local derby. Director of Rugby James Tiffany declared himself delighted with the result.” We have a talented bunch of players, we scored some nice tries and the replacements made an impact, and we were able to give Chad Harris and Harry Wales debuts off the bench, which is good for the squad and good for the club."

Preston Grasshoppers got a much needed victory after losing three on the bounce. They beat Leicester Lions 45-14 seeing Preston leapfrog their opposition into seventh position.

Into the bottom half of the table and the Luctonians capitalised on Stockport errors to come away from Headlands Road with an 11-34 win.  The hosts were the better side for 50 minutes, but their own mistakes ultimately cost them the match, but did show signs that they can turn a corner next weekend after losing all eight of their games so far this season.

Hull and Broadstreet’s supporters finally saw their sides win at home this weekend. Hull beat Caldy 44-15 and Broadstreet condemned Stourbridge to their lowest ever league position in National League Two North after winning 33-10.

Caldy have dropped down the table in recent weeks and the visitors never seemed to be in the game as Hull’s direct play helped them pick up the precious points. “The last two matches on the road against Leicester Lions and Hull were games we thought we could get something out of” said Caldy’s Director of Rugby Simon Wright “and to return with nothing is disappointing.

Similar to Caldy, Stourbridge’s form has taken a turn for the worst recently and it looked like it was going to be another long afternoon when they shipped 13 points in opening eight minutes against Broadstreet. Stourbridge now lie 12^th in the league.  As for the home side, it was a big boost for them as they now move nine points clear of Stockport.