Quick-starting Stourbridge score six first-half tries in big win
A blistering first-half performance saw Stoubridge blow away to Tynedale to remain right in the National League Two North promotion race.
Saturday’s 52-26 win at Stourton Park kept them fifth in the table, eight points behind leaders Hull but with a game in hand.
The match was effectively ended as a contest in the opening 40 minutes as the hosts ran in six tries, two of them from centre Hal Riley.
Stour set the tone in the first minute when prop Mark George touched down to open the scoring. Scrum-half Michael Heaney then made it 10-0 after 15 minutes before kicking the first of six conversions.
After Afeafe Haisila had further extended the lead, Riley then scored twice in four minutes before Joseph Heatley also crossed to make the half-time score 38-0.
Tynedale rallied in the second period to score four tries of their own but a comeback was never seriously on the cards with Tomas Bacon and Chris Scott scoring two more for the home side.
A week after scoring 70 points against Scunthorpe, Dudley Kingswinford were brought back down to earth with a bump as they lost 29-3 at Sheffield in the Midlands Premier.
Rhys Harper kicked an early penalty to get DK on the board but it proved their only points of the day as the promotion-chasing hosts took control, scoring four tries.
Lichfield march on at the top of Midlands One West with a solid 29-12 win at Hereford.
On a tricky pitch, the visitors took control in the first half with tries from Paul Maxwell-Keys and Cal Turner.
Skipper Charlie Milner, who had earlier kicked a penalty, then scored the fourth bonus point try after Tom Day had finished off a flowing team move early in the second half.
Lichfield, who have won 15 out of 16 matches this season, can take a big step toward the title this weekend when they host third-placed Kenilworth.
After starting the year with two defeats, Wolverhampton got back to winning ways with a 43-15 win at home to Malvern. Old Halesonians are eighth after being edged out 29-22 at Sutton Coldfield.
In Midlands Two West (North), Stafford topped the 50-point mark for the second week running with an impressive win away at Uttoxeter.
Nick Oxley scored a hat-trick as Stafford, fresh from winning big against Newcastle the previous Saturday, triumphed 52-9 over their county rivals. Uttoxeter made life tough for the visitors in the opening half but Alex McDonald and Pete Clifton both found their way over the try line before Oxley grabbed his first to make the score 21-9 at the break.
Stephen Frost then secured the bonus point soon after the restart before Oxley crossed twice in quick succession to complete his treble. Late scores from Alex Rock and Quade Boal saw Stafford hit the half century mark.
Stafford sit comfortably in mid-table but the outlook is not so rosy for Stourbridge Lions, who remain in the bottom two after losing 38-14 at Camp Hill.
That is the same position Aldridge find themselves in Midlands Three West (North) after falling to their eighth defeat of the season, 34-15 at home to Harborne.
Only winless Eccleshall remain below them following a 38-12 loss at the hands of promotion-chasing Telford Hornets.
Willenhall’s mixed season in Midlands Four West (North) continued with an emphatic 47-10 win away at Yardley & District.
Victory kept Willenhall, who have now won seven and lost six, fifth in the table, but Wednesbury remain in trouble after losing 23-14 at Trentham while Warley are still searching for their first win following a 27-12 defeat at Barton.
Stone sprang a huge surprise in Midlands Five (West) with a 36-14 win over Greyhound. The result allowed Cannock to jump up to second – though still 11 points behind leaders Birmingham & Solihull – thanks to a 40-15 win at Bloxwich.
