Late win for Wharfedale moves them closer to safety
Wharfedale are out of the relegation zone in National Two North following a dramatic fightback against Tynedale.
Dale scored twice in the last 10 minutes to clinch a crucial victory which has lifted them out of the bottom three ahead of the final weekend in the season.
Their victory saw Blaydon slip back into the drop zone as the north-east side were beaten by South Leicester while rivals Luctonians are still battling for survival after a vital win away at Otley.
However, one club did have their fate sealed in Round 29 as Sheffield suffered an immediate relegation to the fifth tier after they were thrashed by second placed Sedgley Park.
Sedge’s 11-try victory saw them secure a top two finish in National Two North for the first time since 2016 and they are also still one point behind league leaders Sale FC.
Despite the constant pressure from Sedge, Jonathan Keep’s side look unflustered as a commanding win over Huddersfield means victory over Leicester Lions this coming Saturday would see them promoted to National One.
Elsewhere, Macclesfield roared to a win against Stoubridge, Hinckley commanded against Chester and Sheffield Tigers beat Leicester Lions.
Sale FC 45-10 Huddersfield
Sale FC ran in six tries as they moved closer to the National Two North title following their victory over Huddersfield at Heywood Road.
Scores from Chris Johnson, Tom Ailes, Chris Mayor plus a penalty try gave Sale a 28-3 advantage at half-time, with Joel Hinchliffe pinging over a penalty for Huddersfield.
The #16thman did some great work on Saturday to help the boys get a fantastic victory against a very committed @Huddersfield_RU giving us our 21st win in a row and our clean sweep at Heywood Rd this season. #onesalefc who’s coming to @leicesterlions1 Sat https://t.co/nAgasw5APD
— Sale Rugby Club (@SaleFC) April 23, 2018
Jack Barron and Jack Moorhouse touched down after the break and Johnson added a penalty to his tally as Sale clinched their 21st successive victory.
Harry Davey had crossed for Huddersfield shortly after the break, but Sale dominated proceedings for the rest of the half.
Sedgley Park 75-14 Sheffield
Sedgley Park secured a top two finish in style as they thumped Sheffield, while the visitors had their relegation confirmed at Park Lane.
The home side ran in 11 tries with Andy Riley and Sam Lowthion both scoring hat-tricks while Jamie Harrison grabbed a brace.
Matt Riley, Tom Bedlow and Matthew Gallagher all touched down for Sedge who have now surpassed 1000 points scored for the season.
Centre Lewis Bowman went over for Sheffield after seven minutes with Andrew Hodgson crossing on the stroke of half-time, but after one season at this level, it is an immediate return to the fifth tier of English rugby for the Yorkshire club.
Tynedale 22-24 Wharfedale
Wharfedale scored a late try to beat Tynedale and move out of the relegation places with one game in their season to go.
Tyne led 22-19 as the clock ticked towards red, but Phil Woodhead’s try saw Dale snatch an all-important bonus-point victory which leaves them two points clear of the drop zone.
Tries from Ash Smith and David Cook helped Tynedale lead 14-0 before Rhys Lovegrove’s reply.
OK, so here is the summary:
5 point win next week and we are stay up.
4 point win and we may have to wait until May 12th to see if @Luctonians lose a point in their remaining 3 matches, Sheffield, Lions &. Sale— Wharfedale RUFC (@wharfedalerufc) April 21, 2018
Matty Houghton’s score cut further into Tynedale’s lead before the hosts extended their advantage to five points following a Jake Rodgers penalty.
Smith’s second try put Tynedale 10 points in front shortly after the interval before the late drama unfolded.
Woodhead grabbed his first score out of the back of a scrum before the captain went over for what could be a season defining try in the dying embers of this contest.
Macclesfield 50-33 Stourbridge
Full-back Dan Lomax scored a hat-trick as Macclesfield inflicted a fourth successive away defeat on Stourbridge.
Tries from Hal Riley and Stef Thorp had put Stour 14-0 in front.
But, that was the only time they led as a brace from Lomax and scores from Sam Broster and Nick Allsopp put Macc ahead.
Stour did hit back before half-time through Joe Heatley, but a third for Lomax plus Lewis Barker’s effort put Macclesfield in control 10 minutes into the second period.
George Morgan clinched a try bonus-point for Stourbridge when he made the contest 40-28, but a Barker penalty and a score from Myles Hall ultimately wrapped up an excellent win for the Blues, despite Nicolas Murphy’s late try.
Hinckley 40-24 Chester
Hinckley scored a second consecutive bonus-point victory at Leicester Road after defeating Chester.
Captain Alex Salt scored a hat-trick, with all of his tries coming in the first period.
Joe Glover, Jamie Skerritt and Connor Bullivant were the other Hinckley try scorers, with Mike Craven, Matthew Van Sertima, Josh Wood and Kyle Joseph claiming Chester touchdowns.
The win for Hinckley keeps them in the hunt for third place as George Chuter’s side look to end a positive season on a high.
South Leicester 48-34 Blaydon
Blaydon have fallen back into the relegation places in National Two North after their defeat to South Leicester in the Midlands.
Myles Bean was brilliant for the hosts throughout and his hat-trick gave them a 22-17 lead at the interval, with Cameron Bell and David Kilpatrick crossing for Blaydon.
Bean grabbed his fourth score after the break and his fellow winger Matt Cook also got in on the act to put South in command.
Either side of South’s scores, Dan Marshall and Harry Borthwick crossed to obtain a bonus-point for Blaydon, but another effort from the sensational Bean and a penalty try completed the victory for South.
Sheffield Tigers 23-10 Leicester Lions
Sheffield Tigers confirmed their place in National Two North for a third successive campaign following an excellent win over Leicester Lions.
Wing Greg Mellor bagged a brace of tries while Mike Ireland kicked 13 points for the Tigers.
In response, Leicester Lions could only manage tries through Luke Veebel and Jon Boden as they slipped to a fifth straight defeat.
Otley 10-24 Luctonians
Luctonians are still fighting for survival in National Two North after they secured another crucial win away at Otley.
After Sam Boxhall had opened the scoring for Luctonians, the away side held a 17-7 led at the break thanks to tries from Frank Kelly and Tom Jones.
FT at Cross Green v @Luctonians 10-24 #Nat2n
— Otley Rugby Club (@OtleyRugby) April 21, 2018
Alex Beaumont had dotted down for Otley in the first period and the hosts cut Lucs’ lead to seven points when Joe Rowntree landed a penalty on 44 minutes.
However, Jones scored again shortly after and it was enough for Luctonians to seal their second win on the spin which leaves them 10 points from safety with three games in their season remaining.