England duo inspire Fylde as winged wonders earn Hull win

FLYDE 35

HARROGATE 12

Fylde deservedly won this Roses Match though the game wasn't as one sided as the score suggests.

Harrogate tackled valiantly and actually led for a large part of the first half, however, the relentless Fylde pressure told in the end, spearheaded by Oliver Brennand, England 7s winger Nick Royle and the legendary Jason Robinson.

A drop goal from stand-off, Richard Kenyon, gave Fylde an early lead but ot to be outdone, Harrogate came straight back at them and both forwards and backs linked well to test Fylde.

Dan Harland then won good lineout ball and a backs miss move led to Sam Bottomley carving an opening from which Jamie Broadley showed speed and strength to score in the corner.

James Rothwell kicked an excellent conversion to put Harrogate ahead.

Fylde's next score came from their powerful second row, Nick King, who burst through the middle from a short penalty.

Mike Waywell then made a midfield opening for Fylde and his fellow centre, Stephen Briers, backed up to score.

In the final move of the half, Robinson created an overlap for Royle giving him just enough room to beat the defence.

The second half opened with Harrogate attacks stretching the home defence.

Kyle Dench burst through the middle, gathered his own clever chip-kick and slipped the ball to Rothwell whose well-angled run took him over the goal line.

More Harrogate attacks followed but a promising move was halted by a puzzling forward pass decision. From the ensuing scrum, quick Fylde passing gave the ball to Royle who kicked ahead and won the race for the touchdown.

A Kenyon penalty extended Fylde's lead after a Harrogate holding on offence and, shortly afterwards, Harrogate's tireless Tim Heaton was unluckily sin-binned for supposedly handling in a ruck.

Royle scored the game's final try by gathering a fortunate ricocheted kick ahead and crashing over the line.

HULL RUFC 23

LUCTONIANS RFC 12

Hull's wing play is proving to be their most effective form of attack in the new year with an expansive game against Luctonians.

James Cameron's penalty for Hull after two minutes gave the home side the momentum for an early try after 15 minutes.

Constant pressure on the 22 led to a quick break of passing across the field where Will Robinson applied the final pass to Rob Devonshire to score in the left corner before Cameron converted.

Cameron scored a 40-metre penalty a minute later and Hull kept coming when more passing across the line gave Alex Piercy the opportunity to run inside his markers from the right wing and plant the ball after 25 minutes before a successful conversion. Luctonians got back into it with 13 minutes left in the half after Paul Hulland stood up quickly in a close-range scrum and found the line after spinning his marker, enabling John Morris to convert.

Ten minutes after the interval, Hull's Tevita Vaikona attempted a lunge for the ball but ended up leaving in an ambulance with a suspected dislocated ankle. From there the match turned ugly as the battle for possession ended in several off the ball altercations – Hull's Oliver Cook and Luctonians Dale Garner both saw yellow.

Luctonians did score in the 10 minutes of added time with Anthony Marfell finishing a lineout although the conversion was missed.

LOUGHBOROUGH S 27

MORLEY 15

Third-bottom Morley may look in a precarious position but they can take plenty of positives from this clash with second-placed Loughborough Students.

It was Morley's third successive fixture against top three clubs following the extended winter break. It was their second defeat in those matches but the quality of rugby against the students was in stark contrast to the drubbing suffered against Fylde.

Morley made the brighter start and turned round 12-7 in front after scoring two good tries. They took the lead as early as the sixth minute with a well-worked try when a forward charge punched a hole in the hosts' ranks and the ball was thrust down the line where Charlie Spon-Smith had tucked in from full-back and raced over. He then added the conversion.

Loughborough hit back on 18 minutes with a converted try but the parity only lasted for four minutes. Hooker Tom Gray made a jinking run and took the ball into a melee before the pass out was taken on by Chris Hall who timed his pass to left wing Peter Martin beautifully, allowing him to scamper into the corner. The extra two points went begging but, with the wind in their sails, Morley maintained their advantage up until the break.

The scores were level again after just six minutes of the second half but Morley again struck quickly, Spon-Smith landing a penalty within two minutes.

Loughborough finally got their noses in front with their third try and from then on took control of the game, keeping possession and using the ball intelligently.

The crucial score came just after the hour from the home side when a converted try made it 24-15. Morley rallied in the final five minutes when they pressed for the try that could have earned them a losing bonus but the Loughborough defence held firm.

RUGBY LIONS 22

HULL IONIANS 20

The Rugby Lions' Christmas recruitment campaign has produced a much stronger team who were highly motivated for their first home game for two months.

Ionians' teamwork and experience had deservedly earned them a 20-12 lead after 54 minutes but in the last 10 minutes the Lions struck twice to steal the match.

A highly-charged game boiled over in the 25th minute when a mass brawl led to a yellow card for Lions prop Ben Nuttall and a red for the respective team's locks, Tom Grimmett and James Rule, the loss of the experienced Rule for Hull Ionians perhaps hitting the hardest.

Ionians drove over three times without reward, twice held up and the third a try for Simon Jenkins by everyone except the referee. A good inside pass released Lions player coach Emyr Lewis to slice through, Craig Dowsett converting. Hull Ionians attacked again and with the fracas reducing play to 14 versus 13 they scored twice, firstly through Mark Duxbury and then a penalty try, both converted by Hammersley.

Ionians then tried to run from their own 22, losing the ball for Lions to score through Neil Davies. They reasserted control when Hammersley added a penalty, but in the final 10 minutes their lack of ball control let flanker Liam Munro in for a try and Lewis for five points. There was still time for Hull Ionians to chase the kick-off and force yet another penalty for not releasing but the kick to win went just wide.