Brodleians stunned by late fightback

Old Brodleians 18

Pontefract grabbed eight stoppage-time points to earn a share of the spoils after Brodleians had led from the 10th minute.

Ollie Ackroyd kicked the visitors into the lead with a penalty and six minutes later full-back Jack Moon went over for a try.

Brodleians were well on top and looked set for an easy win when Matty Hoyle added their second try, converted by Ackroyd, but two sin-binnings reduced them to 13 men and just before the break, Pontefract opted to scrum a penalty and drove over for Derek Eaves to score.

Andy Dean added the conversion and early in the second half he landed a penalty.

Ackroyd replied with a penalty which looked to be enough but as the game went into stoppage-time, second-row Matty Williams forced his way over for a try. And, as the seventh minute of stoppage-time arrived, Pontefract were awarded a penalty in front of the posts to give Dean an easy final kick.

Old Crossleyans 10

Billingham 32

Crossleyans played the best rugby of their season but had to give way in the second half to a Billingham side that showed why they head the division.

Undaunted by the visitors' reputation, Crossleyans took the game to Billingham in the first half and dominated possession. They should have gone ahead after 20 minutes but Ryan Hammond was unable to get his pass away to Manny Riaz, who had the line at his mercy.

The deadlock was broken in the 35th minute when Billingham landed a penalty but the home pack forced their way over the line on the stroke of half-time, Hammond coming up with the ball.

Ed Cockroft landed the conversion to send Crossleyans into the second period ahead but injuries started to take their toll and Billingham ran in four tries in response to a penalty from Cockroft.

Percy Park 13

Sandal 34

Sandal produced another dominant display without hitting top gear. Tom Coad went over for an early try and Tom Hodson crossed with Tom Smith adding the conversion to put them 12-0 ahead.

Percy Park responded with a try but Sandal were well on top and a try from flanker Alistair Burgess and a conversion and penalty from Smith put them 22-7 in front.

With the home side restricted to two penalties, Sandal were in charge and rounded things off with tries from Danny Mitchell and Alex Orr with Smith landing one more conversion.

Hartlepool Rovers 16

Driffield 16

LEADING at half-time, Driffield had to settle for a draw as their hopes of making the promotion play-offs disappeared.

Driffield kicked their way into an early lead with full-back Lee Birch slotting a penalty, and when hooker Sam Havler touched down shortly after things appeared to be going well for Driffield.

Hartlepool pulled back a penalty, but Birch added another before the break.

Rovers hit back with unconverted tries on 60 and 70 minutes followed by a penalty. Driffield pulled level with stand-off Jordan McGregor scoring a try, which they failed to convert.

Ilkley 3

Darlington 10

Even the inspiration of a visit from 100-year-old Ilkley legend Chris Davidson was not enough to produce a victory.

Ilkley were graced by the presence of their former favourite at their ex-players' lunch, but the fare on the pitch left a little to be desired. The 3-3 scoreline at half-time said much about the hosts' ability to defend yet struggle to find the cutting edge in attack.

Peter Shanks kicked his side's points, but a converted try from Darlington in the second-half was good enough to win the match.

A brace of yellow cards towards the final whistle ended any hopes of rescuing something from the game.