Royle keeps Caldy on top

Two tries from former England Sevens player Nick Royle kept Caldy on top of National Two North after their win over Harrogate.

The league leaders beat the divisions’ bottom club to move four points clear at the summit ahead of their top of table clash with Sale FC this weekend.

Second placed Sale beat Chester away from home to once again underline their promotion credentials while there was also a victory for Sedgley Park.

Promotion challengers Stourbridge slumped to another away defeat as they were beaten by Otley while elsewhere, Hinckley made it six wins on the trot and Tynedale made it three victories on the bounce.

Caldy 48-13 Harrogate

Caldy maintained their lead at the top of National Two North with an emphatic victory over Harrogate at Paton Fields.

Caldy, who travel to second placed Sale FC this coming weekend, led 29-3 at half-time through tries from Nick Royle, Oliver Hearn, Ben Jones and Jack Lavin.

Harry Barnard got the first try of the day for Harrogate after the break before David Doherty reduced the lead to 16 points as he slotted over his second penalty.

However Royle, Lavin and Will Hardy put the result beyond any doubt with three second-half tries as Caldy extended their unbeaten run to 12 matches.

Chester 5-17 Sale FC

Sale FC remain on the tails of league leaders Caldy as they won a highly competitive contest against Chester at Hare Lane.

A try from Jack Moorhouse put Sale 7-0 up after 14 minutes, following some excellent individual play by Tom Ailes and the visitors carried that lead into the second-half.

Their advantage was cut just before the hour as Chester went over, but some superb play saw winger Adam Aigbokhae cross to put Sale in control of this encounter.

A Chris Johnson kick late on wrapped up the win for the Blue and Whites who head into their clash with Caldy just four points behind the Wirral outfit.

Sedgley Park 39-8 Wharfedale

Sedgley Park made it six wins from seven home games this season and stayed third in the table thanks to this commanding victory over Wharfedale.

Sedge’s Matthew Riley, Mark Goodman and Thomas Bedlow went over in the first-half with Tom Barrett responding from the tee for the visitors.

Wharfedale were then blown away at the start of the second period as Letori, Callum McShane and Sam Lowthion all touched down to put Sedge in complete control.

Josh Prell got one back for Dale, but Sedge had the final say as replacement Sam Peet burst through to round off proceedings for Dean Schofield’s side.

Otley 14-7 Stourbridge

Two Paul Petchey tries snatched victory for Otley on Saturday afternoon against Stourbridge at Cross Green.

Otley have now won all six of their home matches this season while it was another miserable day on their travels for Stour.

But this game was all square at half-time as Petchey’s early try was matched by a score from James Otutaha.

Otley could not break down Stourbridge, until winger Petchey’s 60^th minute effort saw him cross for his and Otley’s second try of the day.

Stourbridge then went close on two occasions to try and rescue a draw, but both times Otley did the necessary to keep the visitors out as they sealed their third win in a row.

Scunthorpe 10-35 South Leicester

South Leicester ran in four tries at Heslam Park as Scunthorpe’s run without a National Two North victory was extended to five matches.

A try from Adam Shaw as well as a penalty from Rickie Aley helped the away side to an 8-3 half-time lead, Steve Johnson responding with a lone penalty.

South were quickest out of the blocks in the second-half as they extended their lead with a converted Nick Cairns try.

Scunthorpe rallied back as Colin Chapman crossed, but two further penalties from Aley and a converted try from Blane Howe took the game away from the hosts.

A penalty try late on secured a bonus point for South and wrapped up the win.

Tynedale 29-24 Luctonians

Tynedale made it three wins on the spin as the north-east side edged out the Luctonians at Corbridge.

Tries from Jordan Street and Alex Smith were matched by Ash Smith and Jamie Blamire as both sides went into half-time level at 12-12.

A Rhyan Scott-Young try put the Lucts ahead after the break before the hosts hit back through Oli Walker to take the lead for the first time in this contest.

Smith extended the lead with a penalty before Blamire crashed over to make it 29-17 to the home side.

Kyle Garner’s score five minutes from the end ensured a nervy finish, but Scott Lawson’s men held on for yet another victory.

Hinckley 47-24 Sheffield Tigers

Hinckley comprehensively beat Sheffield Tigers to stretch their winning streak to six matches in National Two North.

Hinckley secured a bonus point within 31 minutes as Jacob Umaga, Conor Bullivant, Alex Salt and Ben Marshall crossed for the hosts before Ben Avent raced over just before the break.

Two Henri Packard tries just about kept the Tigers in touch at half-time.

Flanker Frank Smith crossed for the visitors after the interval, but two more tries in the second-half from Alex Crocker and Mitch Lamb extinguished any hopes of a revival from Sheffield Tigers as Hinckley’s winning run roles on.

Preston Grasshoppers P-P Leicester Lions

Game was postponed due to a frozen pitch.