Rugby round-up: Acklam toppled by leaders Ponteland in title showdown

A late Chris Walker try came as little consolation for Acklam as they saw their Durham and North Two title hopes all but extinguished at Talbot Park.

Ponteland arrived on Teesside with a 10-point advantage at the division’s summit and on the back of 12 straight victories in the league.

And it proved to be an unlucky 13th for Acklam, who dropped to third after Ponteland ran out 30-24 winners.

On a bitterly cold afternoon the hosts were swept away by a 20-minute blitz in the first half, with the in-form visitors scoring their first try inside three minutes.

Centre Dan Marcus found himself in space and cut through Acklam’s defence to touch down under the posts, with Michael Searle adding the extras from the kicking tee.

That score extended to 10-0 moments later as Searle slotted a penalty after the referee harshly penalised Acklam for not rolling away.

With the referee quick to turn to her whistle throughout the match and showing no less than seven yellow cards, the game was a disjointed affair lacking any kind of attacking flow.

The hosts were incensed with the officiating throughout an ill-tempered first half with Acklam feeling they were being penalised at every breakdown, and Ponteland took full advantage.

Acklam v Ponteland

Another Searle penalty rubbed salt in the hosts’ wounds before a destructive rolling maul - an effective aspect of their game - saw Dan Harrison score the second try of the game.

There was still time for the referee to caution a player from both sides before the match, but Acklam returned to the changing room despondent and staring down the barrel of an 18-0 drubbing.

However, the second half was totally different as Acklam found their feet and put their opponents under pressure.

It was only two minutes into the second half when the hosts broke free of their shackles and got on the scoresheet, with flanker James Ffitch finishing off a great team move to reduce the arrears.

Ponteland’s lead was then cut to eight points soon after when Danny Ashton broke through the line and scored a stunning solo effort.

But the comeback was cut short soon after, as another Ponteland rolling maul spilled over Acklam’s try line to earn the runaway leaders a four-try bonus point.

With the clock ticking down Acklam continued to threaten and substitute Walker darted through a gap in the dying seconds to touch down.

That score ensured the hosts did not leave Talbot Park empty-handed and earned Acklam a losing bonus point.

But it was little consolation as Acklam dropped to third in the division after Redcar’s tight 10-5 win at Wallsend.

The Seasiders notched a third straight victory under new head coach Richie Young and leapfrogged their local rivals into a promotion spot.

Wallsend dominated the possession for long periods on a dull afternoon, but Redcar used the ball far more effectively.

With the score locked at 0-0 at half-time, Redcar increased their tempo in the second period and opened the scoring through winger Charlie Templeman.

Wallsend hit back to level the score, until Templeman grabbed his second try to decide the match.

Confusion followed after Templeman’s successful conversion was chalked off with the referee overruling both touch judges. But it made little difference as Redcar blew the promotion race wide open and soared into second place.