Second-row Overson goes in at double to ensure Sandal survive

National Three North and Midlands

Sandal 41 Birkenhead Park 31

Sandal made sure of their survival with a convincing win which saw them run in six tries.

They raced into a 17-0 lead inside 10 minutes with tries from winger Dan McCormack and full-back Tom Hodson with Greg Wood adding a penalty to the first of his four conversions.

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By half-time Gareth Newman and Alex Orr had touched down, stretching the advantage to 27-3.

Park were awarded a penalty try within a couple of minutes of the restart but they were unable to get closer than 10 points of Sandal, whose two second half tries came from second-row Rob Overson.

Rossendale 25 Bradford & Bingley 6

Bradford and Bingley ended their campaign with another defeat, meaning Martin Whitcombe’s men finished short of their stated ambition to bounce back into a higher division at the first time of asking.

There can be few complaints from the Bees camp as they were clearly second best for much of this entertaining encounter at Rossendale.

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With the game seemingly expertly ‘refereed’ from scrum-half by Jamie Albinson, a string of free-kicks turned the ball into the home side’s hands as the No 9 cajoled the official through his game as far as the visitors were concerned. Albinson, however, always looked dangerous with the ball in hand and he had his men on the front foot with his incisive breaks and clever kicks.

Rossendale only crossed the line twice on 10 and 63 minutes as left winger Anthony Bingham zipped through the Bees defence.

The Bees threatened to break through themselves on numerous occasions but some poor handling at crucial moments always turned a promising move into Rossendale possession and the visitors were forced to settle for a couple of penalties.

Waterloo 10 Beverley 17

ANOTHER fine victory over fellow relegation strugglers took Beverley to relative safety in their National Three North campaign.

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One more win from their last two games will ensure survival, although this may not be necessary if results elsewhere go in their favour next week.

With so much at stake, this was always going to be a tight encounter and the first half was an edgy affair with both sides prone to errors.

After a bright start, Beverley became bogged down in their own half and while they were a man short with winger Goran Jelencic in the sin-bin, they fell behind to a try by centre Adam Anderson, which fellow centre James O’Brien converted.

Just 7-0 down at the interval, Beverley recovered their composure afterwards and took almost complete control.

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Their pack easily contained the larger home eight and they were by far the sharper and more incisive in the backs where centres Junior Tupai and Sam Atiola always posed a threat with their powerful running.

Tries by wingers Jelencic and Jerry Barnes and one conversion by full-back Phil Dale took them into a 12-7 lead and soon afterwards a fine solo try by centre Tupai virtually ensured the win.

Waterloo fought back in the later stages and O’Brien kicked a penalty to reduce the difference to a converted try.

But their late charge in a thrilling finish was comfortably contained by excellent Beverley defending.

Middlesbrough 23 Lymm 23

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Although denied a win when the visitors landed a drop goal with the last kick of the match, Middlesbrough had the consolation of a four-try bonus point against a side who were five places higher in the league.

Middlesbrough, playing with a much-changed side, took the lead after three minutes when full-back Simon Moore kicked a penalty.

Although suspect handling prevented any tries for the first quarter of the game, Middlesbrough were in command for much of the first half and eventually increased their lead after 26 minutes when wing forward Matthew Wright touched down.Lymm hit back after just four minutes when wing forward Ollie Higginson crossed for a try, and almost on half-time the visitors took the lead at 10-8 with an unconverted try from centre Tom Bray.

Middlesbrough started the second half well and regained the lead with a good try from winger Michael Thornburn, going further ahead when second-row Neil Young touched down.

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After some good pressure from Lymm, the visitors got back to within a point when centre James Boaden raced over for a try which fly-half Joe Knowles converted, and they regained the lead when Knowles kicked a penalty on 75 minutes.

Middlesbrough immediately responded with a forwards’ try which came after a kick ahead down the touchline, hooker Richard Horton getting the touchdown after they had driven over from a lineout.

This fourth try gave Middlesbrough their bonus point and a 23-20 lead, but they were denied the win when Knowles landed his last-minute drop goal.

Sheffield Tigers 46 South Leicester 11

SHEFFIELD Tigers’ outside hopes of making it to the Midlands play-offs were boosted when they notched an emphatic victory over second-placed South Leicester at Dore Moor.

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Tigers ran in six tries on their way to victory over a side who were 10 points ahead of them going into the match.

Stand-off Jonny West kicked Tigers into an early lead with a penalty after five minutes, and although his opposite number Mark Lord, matched it on 14 minutes, Tigers went ahead on 24 minutes with No 8 Andy Barnes touching down and West converting.

South Leicester scored their first try through full-back Nick Griffin on 28 minutes but it went unconverted and Tigers held on to their narrow 10-8 lead.

Flanker Callum Mackenzie extended their lead with a 25th-minute try which West converted, and although Lord kicked a second penalty for the visitors, Tigers looked strong at 17-11 at the break.

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The second half was all Tigers with South Leicester being pinned back well.

West kicked a penalty after four minutes of the second period, and prop Sam Lockwood touched down on the hour-mark to put his side 25-11 ahead.

Centre John Buchanan put his name on the scoresheet with a 71st minute try which West converted, and he was also on target with the extras following wing forward Nick Pearson’s 75th-minute try.

Now 39-11 ahead, Tigers had time for one last try, and it was replacement back-row Frank Wragg who touched down, West converting.

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