Wharfedale have the edge on Fylde as Ionians stay on top

Daniel Stockdale put Wharfedale in front after four minutes, the hooker finishing off a catch and drive from the pack.

Two penalties and a converted try from Fylde put them 13-7 ahead, but Wharfedale hit back only two minutes later.

Left winger Oliver Cicognini danced between defenders to touch down and cut the deficit before stand-off Jack Blakeney-Edwards kicked the conversion to take a one-point lead at 14-13.

Both sides played strong rugby in the second half, but Wharfedale controlled the game well and kept a skilful Fylde outfit at bay to take the win.

Hull Ionians kept themselves top of the table with a 
22-15 victory over Preston Grasshoppers.

The Yorkshire side raced into the lead with tries from hooker Ben Stephenson, left winger Toni Kuku and the ever-reliable centre Lewis Minikin putting them 22-0 ahead.

Preston fought back with 20 minutes remaining and cut the deficit to a converted score, but Ionians held strong and stay above Chester on number of victories with both teams on 99 points.

Sheffield Tigers slumped to a second straight loss with hosts Tynedale prevailing 36-19.

Tynedale seized the early initiative, scoring three unanswered tries in the opening 30 minutes.

Tigers eventually woke up with a try from prop Tobias Williams but the damage was done and Tynedale’s eventual six tries confirmed a convincing victory despite two further Tigers tries from centre Jamie Broadley.

Huddersfield could have gone within a point of second-placed Chester, but they lost out to them 57-10 after having led midway through the first half.

Scrum-half Isaac Green’s try on the half hour was converted by stand-off Chris Johnson who also added a penalty, but their lead was short lived with Chester eventually ending with nine tries to their name.

Elsewhere, Otley were also on the receiving end of a dominant display, losing 60-17 against hosts Stourbridge.

No 8 Adam Malthouse and right winger Josh Hall scored their tries and scrum-half Joe Rowntree converted both, but it wasn’t nearly enough for Otley.

Rotherham Titans fell to mid-table Cinderford in the National One, losing 36-19.

Attacking assertion fluctuated in the opening half with each team running over for two tries apiece.

No 8 Seb Nagle-Taylor kicked off the scoring for Titans in reply to Cinderford opening the scoring five minutes earlier, before left winger Connor Field replied with a 35th-minute try for the South Yorkshire side.

Rotherham entered the second period with a five-point deficit but could only fashion a lone converted try from wing- forward Zak Poole in response to Cinderford’s three second half scores.

North Premier champions Hull were in no mood to take their foot off the gas, running in 11 tries on their way to a 67-14 win over Sandal.

Elsewhere, promotion hopefuls Harrogate made hard work of beating hosts Lymm, the Cheshire strugglers eventually falling 26-9 to the Yorkshire side who still managed to secure a bonus point and keep in the hunt for the play-offs.

Ilkley also beat Cheshire opponents, scoring eight tries on their way to a 52-0 win over Wilmslow.

Title hopefuls Scarborough were 34-32 winners over Percy Park in a dramatic North One East match.

With leaders Morpeth failing to secure a bonus point in a 23-0 win over Driffield, second-placed Scarborough’s hopes of winning the league remain possible.

At the other end of the table, West Leeds’ bid to avoid the drop was boosted with a 20-14 win over Pocklington.

Full-back Jack Marshall, winger Elihia Chitiyo, former Leeds Rhinos winger Mark Calderwood and centre Sam Neave scored their tries in a bonus point win