Beverley take bonus as Sandal and the Tigers reassert their authority with wins

Beverley 26

Rossendale 37

BEVERLEY went down to their heaviest defeat of the season with a lacklustre performance which belied the good quality of rugby they had been playing.

They started poorly, repeatedly failing to find touch and too easily lost possession when they were trying to get out of their own half. Good defending kept Rossendale out for 20 minutes until No 8 Patrick Pole dived over from a ruck.

Beverley responded with a try from centre Sam Atiola which fly-half Phil Duboulay converted to put them briefly ahead, but further tries from full-back Roger Dennison and prop Leyton Taylor together with one conversion and penalty by fly-half James Bramhall gave Rossendale a commanding 18-7 lead at the interval.

In the second half winger Nathan Settle, Taylor, and centre Danny Collins added further tries for Rossendale, one converted by scrum-half Jamie Albinson and one by Collins.

Beverley came back with a late flourish in the final quarter and scored tries from Atiola, skipper David Worrall and scrum-half Chris Infield.

Duboulay kicked two conversions to leave Beverley with a final deficit of only eleven points which flattered them but did at least bring them a four-try bonus.

Sandal 53

Rochdale 10

TOM HODSON and Alistair Burgess grabbed two tries each as fourth-placed Sandal rolled over struggling Rochdale.

The home side simply outclassed their opponents with Hodson and Burgess going over for a try in each half and Hodson also landing five conversions and penalty.

Sandal tore into a 29-10 lead by half-time and didn't let up after the break with a series of long-range tries from Wood, Danny Mitchell and Max Whittingham.

But the pick of the afternoon's scores came from replacement second-rower Austen Thompson, who marked his first XV debut with a 50-metre solo effort.

Waterloo 38

Middlesbrough 8

MIDDLESBROUGH turned in arguably their worst performance of the season at Waterloo.

The visitors had plenty of possession, but Waterloo punished them for their mistakes with too much spilled ball and turnovers blunting any efforts to attack.

The home side went 3-0 ahead after seven minutes with winger James O'Brien kicking a penalty, and he touched down on 16 minutes to put Waterloo 8-0 ahead.

Four minutes before half-time winger Jack Bircham touched down in the left corner, but the Boro conversion was missed, and O'Brien kicked a second penalty on the whistle.

Middlesbrough continued to be their worst enemy, throwing away possession too often, and after another O'Brien penalty, Ian Moran added a second try.

Fly-half Simon O'Farrell pulled back a penalty for Middlesbrough, but that was to prove their last score, as Waterloo marched to victory. Andrew Anderson and Matthew Bell added further tries.

Sheffield Tigers 34

Old Northamptonians 20

SHEFFIELD Tigers, after two successive defeats, got off to a lively start and held on comfortably as their National Three Midlands rivals came back at them in the second half.

Tigers took the lead in the first minute when full-back John Feeley raced over for a try. Fly-half Alex Rose pulled back a penalty for Northampton but that was to be their only score of the half as Tigers took control. Feeley touched down for his second before second-row Gregor Hayter scored, the try converted by Tom Outram. Then, on the stroke of half time, prop Sam Lockwood crashed over for Tigers' fourth try.

Five minutes after the restart Northants came back into the game when winger Kieron O'Connor sprinted over for a try.

Jimmy Pearson, the Tigers fly-half, then crossed for a try which Outram converted, but the visitors hit back through Will Kingston before Francis Denny scored Tigers' sixth try.

Lewis Barker's try late on was a consolation for the visitors.

Bradford & Bingley 42

Chester 13

Player-coach Stuart Dixon earned the man-of-the-match plaudits as he rolled back the years to give a masterclass in midfield back play as his side crushed previously unbeaten Chester.

The first half in particular was possibly the best rugby seen at Wagon Lane for a couple of years as Dixon and Philip Greaves inside him controlled play.

The Bees back row of Martyn Mitchell, Guy Ford and Tom Cokell were always to the fore stopping Chester on the gain line and turning the ball over in the tackle.

Chester opened the scoring with a penalty in the second minute but with two strikes from Gavin Stead the Bees had established a lead they would not relinquish.

Greaves galloped over after his forwards had shunted the Chester pack back 20 metres before the crispness of the backs was rewarded with a score from Gavin Stead. A penalty try was quickly followed by the bonus collector when Ben Greaves who somersaulted in for a tremendous score.

Chester were a bit more competitive in the second half but the Bees had the game in the bag. A score from the visiting pack on 70 minutes briefly broke the stranglehold but the victory was sealed by Mark Gemmell who sniped over near the posts.