Hall snatches derby draw as six-try Ionians secure revenge

Twenty-four of the game’s 34 points were scored when sin-binning had reduced a team to 14 players.

Early Huddersfield pressure gave Chris Johnson two very kickable opportunities which he missed. He eventually atoned when Harrogate illegally held on near the line to give Huddersfield the lead.

Harrogate’s attacks were undermined by handling errors before a drive from a lineout by Huddersfield lock Gavin Rhodes was eventually checked just short of the line. But the ball was quickly recycled and No 8 Nick Sharp powered over.

The same pattern continued after the resumption with more Harrogate errors. A four-on-two overlap was wasted but excellent forward pressure was thwarted illegally and Chris Johnson was sent to the sin bin.

Finally Harrogate got their reward when Ryan Peacey burst though the defence for a fine converted try. Then Kyle Dench sprinted clear for an excellent individual try.

Mike Aspinall stretched the lead to seven points with a penalty before the sin-binning of Harrogate’s Ben Innes gave Huddersfield a crucial advantage of which they made the most.

Held to a 19-19 draw on their rivals’ ground earlier in the season, Hull were again under pressure in the early stages but took command in the second half to record a 34-19 home win against Leicester Lions.

Lions went ahead with a first-minute try by fly-half Sam Dimmick, who converted, but Hull turned round 10-7 up following a penalty by James Cameron and a try by full-back Jim Wigglesworth which Cameron converted.

Steve Slingsby, Hull’s man of the match, scored the first of his two tries three minutes into the second half, and flanker Rob Devonshire and centre Matt White also touched down. Cameron converted two.

Hull Ionians ran in six tries to three as they scored a 41-22 victory at Nuneaton, avenging a 27-23 defeat on their own ground earlier in the season.

Nuneaton went 12 points up in the first five minutes, but a magnificent forward effort saw Ionians take control after the interval.They turned round level thanks to tries by scrum-half Adam Thomas and winger Oliver Mann, with Dave Marshall converting one and adding a penalty.

Marshall touched down in the second half, when other tries came from Joe Makin, John Steele and Mark Wigham.

Sheffield Tigers went down 22-16 to Loughborough Students, who secured the title with this win. But Tigers took consolation from securing a losing bonus point from a strong side.

Flanker Nick Pearson touched down for Tigers, while stand-off Jonny West kicked three penalties and a conversion.

Otley were beaten 12-10 at Luctonians. A big home pack gave Otley a hard time in the scrum but were second best in the loose.

Otley swung the ball from the start and from a lineout a long pass from fly-half Tom Rock found full-back Christian Georgiou coming up the wing to race in at the corner and then convert. He was also accurate with a penalty.

Experienced Luctonians managed to grab a couple of makeshift tries in the second half and the conversion of the second, on 68 minutes, gave them a lead which they managed to hold.