Caldy put out to pasture in horror show at Harrowgate

Jan 30 2008 by Our Correspondent, Birkenhead News

HARROGATE were too strong for Caldy, as the Wirral side crashed to a 27-11 defeat in the National Three North.

Caldy dominated for the first quarter to lead through a Simon Mason penalty before the Harrogate forwards drove over from a line-out.

A second Mason kick was followed by a Craig Ross try for Caldy but on half-time, Harrogate struck again with a wing try from a long pass which Ross almost intercepted. The conversion by Wainwright edged the home side 12-11 ahead.

They extended the lead with a try from a rolling maul and then scrum-half Brown went in on the blind side following more good work by the powerful pack.

Another touchdown in the last moments from a speculative cross kick was tough on Caldy, who played some excellent rugby at times and competed well throughout. Richard Broer tried hard in the Caldy pack as deputy for Richard Bradshaw.

Birkenhead Park failed to make enough use of the wind in the first half, as they fell to a 16-10 defeat against Sheffield Tigers in North One.

It was a close affair with two second-half penalties tipping the balance for Tigers, who rarely lose at home.

Park won plenty of possession and their pack was on top at the end, but the Tigers’ defence proved just as good as their own.

Tim Outram (Sheffield) and Park’s Dave Hall exchanged early penalties before the only home try at the end of the opening quarter when scrum-half Alan Drage broke clear after a ruck to touch down by the posts, leaving Outram an easy goal.

The visitors were awarded a penalty try in the 29th minute when the Tigers collapsed a scrum as they drove towards the line. Hall’s conversion made it 10-10. Outram landed penalties in the 60th and 70th minutes as Park’s fine form was halted. They now face an uphill task to reach a top two placing.

New Brighton returned to winning form in North Two West with 34-14 win over Lymm.

Skipper Kati Tuipulotu played a leading role with four tries. He touched down twice in the opening minutes and Dean converted once.

The visitors replied with a converted try before Dean chipped over for Rick Hopkin to cross, but the Blues ran the ball from a tap penalty for Tuipulotu’s third, goaled by Dean, before Lymm added a second converted try.

Tuipulotu cast defenders aside with ease as he crossed for the fourth time. Another try from prop John Brotherton from a ruck helped the home team step over Lymm into fourth place.

Wirral built up an unassailable 31-0 interval lead in South Lancashire/Cheshire One before finally winning 45-14 against Ruskin Park.

The visitors tried hard in the second period and were rewarded with two converted tries, but Wirral were always superior. Craig Harvey crossed three times and Ross Page twice. There were also tries for Mike Ludbrook and Alistair Baker, with five conversions for Dan Harvey.

After looking to be on the ropes against a powerful Crewe and Nantwich side, Wallasey staged a late rally to take the South Lancashire/Cheshire One points with a 22-15 victory.

Ben Edwards, Martin Sutton and Greg McDonald gained tries for Wallasey and Paul Lewis kicked two conversions and a penalty.

The visitors achieved two tries, one conversion and a penalty in a hard- fought affair.