Sale FC are back on top
Otley continued their positive home form in Round Six
©Nick Doyle and Otley RFC
Sale FC returned to the summit of National Two North following their victory against Sheffield Tigers as the race for the top two spots in this division continues to heat up.
Three points separate Sale and fifth place Stourbridge with both of the aforementioned sides going head to head in Round Seven this coming weekend.
Stour were back to winning in ways in Round Six as they beat winless Harrogate while Leicester Lions moved into the top three following an impressive performance against Scunthorpe.
Neighbours South Leicester drew with Sedgley Park – who still remain unbeaten this season – while Otley snatched a much needed win at home against the Preston Grasshoppers.
Sheffield Tigers 27-47 Sale FC
Sale FC went to the top of the National Two North table as a superb second half display helped them to victory over Sheffield Tigers at Dore Moor.
Despite Jack Moorhouse going over for his 100th try for Sale, the visitors found themselves 24-22 behind at the break with scores from Pete Swatkins and Henri Packard giving Sheffield the lead.
Both sides exchanged penalties after the interval before Sale crossed three more times in the second period to take the game away from their hosts and secure their fifth win of the term.
Hinckley 7-21 Caldy
Caldy remain second in National Two North as they extended their winning run to five matches with victory over Hinckley.
Newly promoted Hinckley, despite currently being in the bottom three, battled hard but Caldy proved too strong for them.
Three Rhys Hayes kicks and a Jack Collister try helped Caldy lead 21-0 at half-time with the hosts unable to provide a response.
The power up front for Caldy set up Ted Stagg’s 56th minute score only after Hinckley had got on the board via an Alex Salt try.
And that is how the game stayed leaving the Wirral side just a point off top spot while Hinckley are still without a win since the opening day of the season.
Leicester Lions 38-13 Scunthorpe
Leicester Lions scored five second-half tries to help move them up to third in the table following this win at home against newcomers Scunthorpe.
The 38-13 victory leaves Lions just one point off leaders Sale after a blistering second 40 by the hosts at Westleigh Park.
Danny Hartwell opened the scoring for Leicester, but the home side were behind at the break as a Steve Johnson penalty and a close range try from Jack Barron gave Scunthorpe the lead.
But the Lions went through the gears after the restart and their intentions were clear less than a minute into the second period as Devon Constant went over.
Further scores from Matt Tuckey, Dan Martin, John Murdoch and another from Constant saw the Lions safely home.
South Leicester 27-27 Sedgley Park
For the second week running, Sedgley Park had to settle for a draw in National Two North as they shared the points with South Leicester at Welford Road,
Sedge had to rely on a late try to maintain their unbeaten start to the season last weekend against Tynedale and it was another nail-biting game in the Midlands.
The result for Dean Schofield’s men leaves them fourth in the table, but only two points behind leaders Sale as it continues to be tight at the summit.
As for South Leicester, they sit eighth in the division having won two of their first six matches of this campaign.
Stourbridge 18-12 Harrogate
Stourbridge bounced back from defeat against Leicester Lions with this hard earnt victory over bottom of the league Harrogate on Saturday.
‘Gate headed into this fixture without a win to their name all season and surprised everyone watching at Stourton Park when they went into half-time with a 7-0 lead thanks to a Jonathan Coser try.
But having gone ahead, Harrogate were overhauled by Ashley Elvers and Joe Briger scores in the second-half as well as eight points from the boot of Luke White.
Harrogate refused to leave the Midlands without a bonus-point and were rewarded for their endeavour as Ollie Rosillo touched down in the corner.
At the same time, Stour had Billy Harding yellow carded which led to an tense finish as Harrogate went in search of the winning score but Stour managed to hold on for the win.
Luctonians 34-7 Wharfedale
The Luctonians made it three wins on the spin at they cruised to victory against Wharfedale at Mortimer Park.
Converted tries scored by Francis Kelly and Charlie Grimes and two Louis Silver penalties gave the Luctonians a 20-0 half-time lead.
A simple score for Joe Doyle gave the Lucts more breathing space after the break before Wharfedale had something to cheer about as Joe Burridge wrong-footed the defence to dive over.
But, the Lucts had the final say in this contest as they secured their bonus-point win when winger Will Hodnett dotted down late on.
Tynedale 27-33 Chester
Tynedale claimed two bonus points in their defeat against Chester thanks to two late tries at Corbridge.
Scores from Will Bown and Harrison Vare as well as three penalties from the boot of Callum Bennett gave Chester a 19-17 half-time lead, with James Blamire dotting down twice for the hosts.
But, that was the closest Tyne would come to Chester as a slow start to the second period saw replacement Kyle Joseph give Chester a 16 point advantage as he crossed the whitewash on two occasions.
However, Tynedale did fight back as Rob Parker and Ben Haigh both crossed to seal Tyne a couple of points while Chester made it three wins in their last four matches.
Otley 20-18 Preston Grasshoppers
Preston Grasshoppers were left frustrated once again as they saw a win on the road slip away from them against Otley at Cross Green.
Hoppers did lead this contest 13-12 at the break thanks to eight points from Lewis Allen and a try from Charlie Hough while Otley’s James Wood and Max Johnson touched down for the hosts.
William Rigg put Otley ahead after the break with his try and Tom Hodson extended their advantage with a penalty shortly after.
In the last 20 minutes Preston’s Olly Viney crossed to reduce the deficit to two points, but despite the Hoppers battering away at the Otley defence, they were unable to make a breakthrough as the Yorkshire side held on for a third straight home win.
