Woodhead wings in for Cleckheaton

North East One

Pontefract 18 Cleckheaton 36

Cleckheaton eased to victory with winger Martin Woodhead scoring four second-half tries to take his side above Wheatley Hills into third place while leaving the home side second from bottom.

Pontefract had the better of the first half and went in front following a catch and drive that was touched down by second-row Matty Williams.

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The visitors pulled ahead with a try by Ross Aiden converted by Ian Gordon, only for Pontefract to edge back in front with a penalty from Andy Dean.

The home side’s advantage was extended to 15-7 when No 8 Chris Planchant controlled well in a driving scrum and touched the ball down, Dean converting.

Cleckheaton pulled back within three points when some poor tackling allowed full-back Jonathan Marshall to cross.

Cleckheaton took the lead after the break when a mistake from a Pontefract line-out allowed Woodhead to score his first and his second came moments later. Gordon converted.

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Dean landed a penalty when prop Paul Turner was sin binned but Woodhead slipped through some despairing tackles to put the game out of reach before scoring again in the dying minutes.

Old Crossleyans 34 Durham 7

Crossleyans avenged a 36-11 defeat earlier in the season, notched their third win in four starts and eased a little further from the relegation zone with this impressive display of running rugby orchestrated by Gareth Ott.

They were 10-0 in front after only seven minutes with tries from Leigh Thomas and Chris Seymour.

They continued to dominate the half and squandered at least four good chances before Kiwi Daniel Temm ran in a brilliant try from halfway.

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Joe Baker went over early in the second half. Neil Richardson added his third conversion and then darted over for a try.

Rob Smith, who scored four tries in that earlier encounter, pulled one back before Baker rounded things off with his second try.

Northumbria 28 Wheatley Hills 24

WHEATLEY Hills’ promotion hopes have all but disappeared after claiming just two bonus points.

Full-back Alec Porter kicked an early penalty for the home side, but Wheatley took the lead on with centre Ryan Richardson touching down and fly-half Michael Hayward converting.

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Porter’s second penalty was followed by scrum-half Ian Barker’s try for Wheatley and they were 12-11 ahead at the break.

Centre Tom Grimes’ 55th minute converted try handed Northumbria the lead and Porter added another penalty after a try by Hills right winger Tom Barke.

No 8 Gareth Burns touched down with 10 minutes remaining and Richardson converted, leaving Wheatley ahead but a stoppage-time try from flanker James Rose, converted by Porter, saw the hosts claim victory.

Old Brodleians 45 Hartlepool Rovers 22

Old Brodleians romped to a comfortable win over struggling Rovers thanks to four second-half tries from No 8 Luke Scrimshaw.

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The visitors dominated the first-half and led 15-7 at the break – Brodleians scoring through Richard Holborough’s try converted by Ollie Ackroyd.

Brodleians then cut loose, scoring six tries, four from Scrimshaw, who showed a combination of impressive running and handling skills. Stand off Liam Scott and prop Luke Brocklehurst also got their names on the scoresheet while Ackroyd helped converted four.

The hosts were out of sight by the time Hartlepool added a converted try.

West Hartlepool 31 Driffield 25

Driffield were edged out by two late tries from top of the table West Hartlepool.

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Neither try was converted ensuring the Woldsmen claimed a losing bonus point as all three teams below them ended their matches empty-handed.

West Hartlepool were 21-3 ahead after their first three tries, all converted, to a penalty from Lee Birch for the visitors.

Driffield made it 21-11 by half-time with an excellent try from full-back Birch, who added a second penalty, and converted his own try after the break.

Alistair McClarron ran the length of the field to score and Birch converted only for West’s Gareth Foreman and Adam Coates to cross in the last 10 minutes.

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