Beverley storm back for victory while Sandal have to settle for consolation of bonus point

Beverley got off to a dreadful start during which they quickly conceded two soft tries by scrum-half Paul Newton and centre James Ella.

Penrith looked to be running away with it, but against the run of play Beverley clawed their way back with a penalty by fly-half Phil Duboulay and a converted try by centre Sam Atiola.

The visitors regained the lead with a fine try by winger Jon Fell but Beverley came back with a converted try by centre Junior Tupai to go 17-15 ahead.

A penalty by fly-half Steve Wood edged Penrith into an 18-17 lead at the interval.

In the second half, Beverley got into their stride and further converted tries by full-back Ben Johnson, scrum-half Chris Infield and Atiola took Beverley to 38-18.

Winger Phil Fell got over for Penrith after a fine run down the left but it was their only score of the half and Infield rounded off a fine Beverley recovery with a final try in the dying minutes.

Sandal 15 Darlington MP 17

SANDAL produced a below-par performance in succumbing to a narrow home defeat by Darlington.

Having seen off West Hartlepool in their opening game of the campaign, and playing two successive home fixtures, Sandal were hoping to cement a solid start.

Instead, they were somewhat fortunate to find themselves only 12-5 down at half-time against more creative and competitive opponents.

Jake Mulhern’s try on the wing was the only bright spot of the opening 40 minutes for Sandal, who struggled to put together any significant phases.

Full-back Mark Pease pulled three points back for the hosts after the interval but a third try for Darlington stretched the advantage to 17-8.

With 15 minutes remaining, winger Dave Martin set out on an audacious run through a ruck of players and went over, Pease converting the try, but despite earning two kickable penalties in the final five minutes, Sandal were left with only a bonus point to show for their efforts.

Bradford & Bingley 13 Chester 27

TRIES in the first and last minutes enabled Chester to claim the spoils.

That final score from Liam Gill was their fourth of the game.

Between those scores there was little to chose between the sides who both tried to utilise the full width of the field.

Josh Leech cantered home after 45 seconds but Gavin Stead’s penalty opened the Bees account on 21 minutes and they took the lead as Stead finished off a handling move on 24 minutes.

The lead lasted only five minutes as Tom Blackwell rounded off a tremendous move from the visiting backline. Lloyd Hayes slotted the conversion then added a penalty. Chester were enjoying the upper hand and their edge in the backline was rewarded by a score from full-back Pat Coy. The sides turned round at 22-8.

Man of the match Tom Cokell urged his men forward and although the Bees bobbed and weaved looking for an opening many of the moves ended up a blind alley.

Captain Steve Brimacombe gave the Bees some hope with a score on 51 minutes but for all their bluster, the Bees could not crack the Chester defence.

Altrincham Kersal 22 Morley 13

MORLEY handed debuts to three more players at Altrincham and despite defeat there were signs of hope for the future.

After the opening day drubbing at home to Birkenhead, in which they had five new faces, they looked much less vulnerable and gave an improved performance.

They showed none of the early signs of rustiness from the previous week and a brace of penalties from left winger Simon Bradshaw in the opening 12 minutes produced a promising start.

However, a catch-and drive for the home side allowed them to reduce the arrears to a point. With the minutes ticking down to half-time, Altrincham’s forwards combined again to add a second try, making the score at the mid-way stage 10-6.

Morley were caught cold at the beginning of the second half, conceding two tries and a conversion. Bradshaw pulled one back with a neat finish but a meaningful comeback never truly looked on the cards.