Darlington climb another spot in the league after 17-7 victory over Bishop

Going into the game Darlington were 3 points adrift and with some strong recent results the Darlington squad knew they had the capability to not only win but leapfrog Bishop in league.

Bishop won the toss and opted to play into the wind during the first half which meant the Darlington knew they had to put the work in early so not to leave all the work in the second half.
Despite recent flooding the ground was in great condition and credit to the Bishop grounds staff in getting it playable again.

It was Bishop who got the scoring underway from a powerful scrum that sent the Darlington pack backwards, this was however against the grain as Darlington had 2 or 3 try scoring opportunities which were wasted with some misplaced handling.

Before the half was out it was 7-7 with a try scored by Col Rogers from a line-out driving maul. Despite the strong wind the conversion was secured by Lewis Gardiner.

In the second half Darlington continued to look threatening and an excellent attacking line from Adam Smith allowed him to jink his way through the defense and add another 5 points, again the conversion was secured off the boot of Lewis Gardner.

An infringement from Bishop in their own 22 allowed Gardiner to add a further 3 points and extend the Darlington lead. Darlington felt they had done enough to secure the victory and with some tight play by the pack the victory was completed.

T: Rogers, Smith
C: Gardiner (2)
P: Gardiner

Next week Darlington travel to league leaders Ponteland with a view to cause an upset.

Darlington Bulls 24 - 29 Hartlepool BBOB

Darlington Bulls hosted Hartlepool BBOB at Blackwell Meadows and were frustrated to not have taken the win. The Bulls welcomed back Ed Hurley from a recent broken thumb and were boosted by local players Johnny Willams and Callum Piert.

T: Scullion (2), Keretabua
C: Piert (3)
P: Piert (1)

Next week Darlington Bulls host Redcar at Blackwell Meadows