Hull hold form to overcome derby rivals Hull Ionians

The National Two (North) encounter at Brantingham Park was a hotly-contested match from the start, and after taking an early lead and being 19-5 ahead at half-time, Hull survived a second-half fightback by Ionians to take victory.

No 8 William Hall scored their first try after five minutes, stand-off Simon Humberstone converting, and full-back Reece Dean added a second try on 10 minutes. That conversion was missed, but it was nevertheless a good start to the match for the high-flying visitors.

Ionians’ No 8 George Mewburn got his side off the mark with a try four minutes later but the conversion was missed, as was full-back Lewis Minikin’s long-range penalty attempt on 35 minutes.

Just before half-time, right winger Mike Adlard raced in for Hull’s third try, Humberstone converting for a 19-5 lead at the break.

Outside centre Josh Britton bagged a second try for the hosts to narrow the gap, but the conversion was missed again by Minikin, as was another long-range penalty four minutes later.

However, the full-back was on target with the boot with a 56th-minute penalty from near the halfway line, and another came on 69 minutes.

With the score at 19-16, suddenly it was game on.

However, Hull held firm and the only other score was a penalty with three minutes remaining from Humberstone.

Many of the day’s other matches were postponed for various reasons related to Covid-19.

The RFU announced early last week that clubs could postpone this weekend’s matches if they wished due to the proximity to Christmas.

The rise of the Omicron variant has led to concerns that a contact sport could see a bigger risk of catching Covid, and with the subsequent 10-day isolation period now encompassing Christmas Day, many clubs agreed to postpone the matches to next year.

This rule saw the postponement of the National One game between Leeds Tykes and Darlington Mowden Park, while in National Two (North) the Rotherham Titans versus Sheffield Tigers game, and Sedgley Park v Huddersfield match were both called off.

The Wharfedale versus Harrogate game was similarly postponed, with Harrogate already having a positive case in their first XV.

The lower echelons of the game similarly suffered, with just two of the seven scheduled North Premier games going ahead, while just three of the seven games in North One East proceeded as planned.

York battled to a 15-15 draw at Kirkby Lonsdale in the North Premier division, with no other Yorkshire teams in action in that league.

Otley are still top of the table and unbeaten in 12 games.

Driffield’s lead at the top of North One East has been cut to just one point.

They battled to a 17-10 home win over Malton and Norton, but while they failed to secure a bonus point for scoring four tries, second-placed Old Brodleians did just that, beating hosts Morley 29-14 and securing a five-point win which narrowed the gap to the top of the table.

Cleckheaton secured an emphatic 34-7 win over visitors Consett. While they are still fifth, the win means they are now just one point behind the two teams above them, Heath and Ilkley.

Middlesbrough bagged a morale-boosting 34-10 win at Leodiensian in Yorkshire One to go top.

Former leaders Old Crossleyans suffered a shock 25-15 defeat at mid-table Beverley and are now two points behind Middlesbrough in second spot.

Bradford Salem boosted their hope of avoiding relegation with a 22-13 win over Old Rishworthians, while Pontefract were 17-15 winners at Goole.